Scalise Undergoes Stem Cell Transplant

WASHINGTON — House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., announced Friday that he has successfully completed chemotherapy treatments for a form of blood cancer known as multiple myeloma, and is undergoing a stem cell transplant today.

The statement released by Scalise’s office said the majority leader completed his treatments last month “and had a positive response.”

“Once the procedure is completed, he will be recovering under the supervision of his medical team and will work remotely until returning to Washington next month,” the statement said.

The notice from Scalise’s office called the latest development in his battle against cancer “a significant milestone.”

“He is incredibly grateful to have progressed so well, and is thankful to his entire medical team, family, friends and colleagues for their prayers and support,” his office said.

Scalise, who is 58, made his cancer diagnosis public in August, calling his myeloma “very treatable.”

He said he was diagnosed with cancer after not feeling like himself for a week or so.

Blood tests showed some irregularities and, after additional screening, he said he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

At the time, he predicted his treatment would continue “for the next several months.”

Since then, he’s continued to put in a full schedule, the only sign of his illness being the face mask he wore whenever not at a podium to speak.

Scalise was among several people wounded in 2017 when a rifle-wielding attacker fired on lawmakers on a baseball field in Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington. 

Wounded in the hip, Scalise underwent a series of lengthy hospitalizations, multiple surgeries and a long and painful rehabilitation.

Reflecting back on that experience at the time of his cancer diagnosis, he said, “I will tackle this with the same strength and energy as I have tackled past challenges.”

According to the National Cancer Institute, stem cell transplants are often used to treat people with cancers that affect blood cells, such as leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and myelodysplastic syndromes. 

The transplants do not usually work against cancer directly. Instead they restore blood-forming stem cells in people who have had theirs destroyed by the high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy that are used to treat certain cancers.

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