U.S. lawmaker and civil rights hero John Lewis has pancreatic cancer

 

FILE PHOTO: Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) testifies to the Senate Judiciary Committee during the second day of confirmation hearings on Senator Jeff Sessions' (R-AL) nomination to be U.S. attorney general in Washington, U.S., January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic Representative John Lewis, a hero of the U.S. civil rights movement, said on Sunday he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

 

Lewis, 79, who endured beatings by white police and mobs during the 1960s civil rights movement and won further respect as a foremost black member of the U.S. Congress for more than three decades, said he was "clear-eyed" about the severity of his diagnosis.

 

"I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now," Lewis said in a statement.

 

Lewis, an Alabama sharecropper's son first elected in 1986 as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia, said he would return to Washington in the coming days to begin treatment.

 

"I may miss a few votes during this period, but with God’s grace I will be back on the front lines soon," he said.

 

Lewis was a protégé of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. He led sit-ins to integrate all-white lunch counters, was one of the original "Freedom Riders" who integrated buses, and suffered a skull fracture in a beating by a nightstick-wielding white state trooper during a 1965 march in Selma, Alabama, for black voting rights.

 

(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-12-30

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This gentleman survived beatings in Selma in the 60s and has survived everything thrown at him over the years. He will survive this one, too. My prayers are with you.

First Cummings and now Louis this is indeed a dark time for the USA my prayers are with you sir and thank you for the fine example you have set in your life you have made many  of us the better for it

Stage 4 Pancreatic cancer.  He should resign and spend his remaining time with his family.  Certainly 12 months or less with that diagnosis. 

2 hours ago, Thomas J said:

Stage 4 Pancreatic cancer.  He should resign and spend his remaining time with his family.  Certainly 12 months or less with that diagnosis. 

I doubt he would do that his mission in civil rights in this dark times is way more important I’m sure his family wholeheartedly supports him in this

2 hours ago, Thomas J said:

Stage 4 Pancreatic cancer.  He should resign and spend his remaining time with his family.  Certainly 12 months or less with that diagnosis. 

At this stage, he might feel important to achieve what he can when he can ("when" and not "while"). It's his very personal choice, every person is different. It must be painfull, and he is probably suffering too, so anything he can do "as usual" is a benediction. Not everyone is willing to live each moment thinking it might be the last one. Some people carry on until the light is switched off.   

15 hours ago, Somtamnication said:

This gentleman survived beatings in Selma in the 60s and has survived everything thrown at him over the years. He will survive this one, too. My prayers are with you.

 I admire you wishes but at 79 years old with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. No he won't survive...he really will not.

14 hours ago, Tug said:

First Cummings and now Louis this is indeed a dark time for the USA my prayers are with you sir and thank you for the fine example you have set in your life you have made many  of us the better for it

A dark time? really? they would tear you apart for saying that in the UK or Australia.

7 hours ago, emptypockets said:

A dark time? really? they would tear you apart for saying that in the UK or Australia.

Why?i have absolutely no idea why you would say something like that