Jamie Raskin announces cancer diagnosis

Rep. Jamie Raskin announced on Wednesday that he’d been diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, “a serious but curable form of cancer.”

“With the benefit of early detection and fine doctors, the help of my extraordinary staff, the love of Sarah and our daughters and sons-in-law (actual and to-be) and family and friends, and the support of my beloved constituents and my colleagues in the House, I plan to get through this and, in the meantime, to keep making progress every day in Congress for American democracy,” the Maryland Democrat said in a statement.

The congressman said he was diagnosed after “several days of tests” and would “embark on a course of chemo-immunotherapy on an outpatient basis” at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. He added that the prognosis for most in his situation was “excellent” after four months of treatment.

“I expect to be able to work through this period but have been cautioned by my doctors to reduce unnecessary exposure to avoid COVID-19, the flu and other viruses,” Raskin said. “In addition to destroying cancer cells, chemotherapy impairs natural antibodies and undermines the body’s immune system. I am advised that it also causes hair loss and weight gain (although I am still holding out hope for the kind that causes hair gain and weight loss).”

Raskin, who was sworn in to his third term in Congress in 2021, has cemented himself as an influential House Democrat and seen his national profile rise after taking on the role of a manager in President Donald Trump’s second impeachment, and after becoming a Jan. 6 select committee member. Just last week, he landed the top Democratic job on the influential House Oversight Committee, where he’ll serve as a ranking member in the new Congress.