‘I’m at the Top of My Game’

You call yourself a workaholic and suggest that the stress of your grueling primary challenge in 2004 may have played a role in your cancer diagnosis. There are conflicting views on whether stress can cause cancer. Do you believe it can?
I don't know. I've studied this and the evidence is inconclusive. What I do know is that I am not going to succumb to it. I'm not going change my way of living out of concern that stress can cause cancer.

But are there ways you've been able to manage your workload and deal with stress since your cancer diagnosis?
Yes, I manage it in variety of ways. First, I get seven hours of sleep every night, and most days I also get a half-hour nap. And exercise is a big manager of stress. I'm a squash player, and I dragged myself out of bed every morning to play, even during chemo, which is a debilitating process. I used to say that playing squash was the most important thing I do every day, but now I say that playing squash is the only important thing I do every day. If you get enough rest and exercise, the human body is meant to sustain a heavy workload.

You say in the book that it's important for patients to ask questions, get second opinions, become their own best advocate and respectfully challenge their doctors. But some people are intimidated by their doctors. How do you convince them to do these things?
Just listen to my story and you'll understand why it's so important. A doctor once told me I had Lou Gehrig's disease, then later changed that diagnosis. Another doctor told me I had three to six weeks to live. A chief neurosurgeon of a prominent hospital said my brain tumor was malignant and told me to just go home and have a good time. That really happened. It led me to think he was crazy. I said, "Give me my films. I'm going to Philadelphia." Twice doctors gave me a death sentence, and twice they were wrong. As patients you have to ask questions, get second opinions, go to the Internet, talk to friends. Doctors don't always respond well to questions, but you have rights as a patient. It's your health that's at stake, not theirs.

You've been a staunch supporter of embryonic stem cell research, but is it even more important to you now that you're a cancer survivor?
Yes. I'd like to see a million-person march on the Mall [in Washington, D.C.] that makes enough noise so that they can hear it in the living quarters of the White House. I want to put the pressure on to support the Specter-Harkin bill to have federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. There are more than 110 million people with cancer and a wide variety of maladies who can benefit from this research.

Lymphoma is the most common blood cancer and the fifth-most common cancer in the United States, but it doesn't get the same amount of media attention as some other cancers. Do you have any theories why this is?
Well, I think the impact of breast cancer is the most graphic. Women lose their breasts, and that's pretty tough to take. Prostate cancer gets a lot of attention, as well, because so many men get it. But lymphoma and cervical and some of the other cancers don't get quite get as much.

How well did you know the late Paul Tsongas, a fellow senator and onetime presidential candidate who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1983?
After Tsongas was diagnosed he announced he wasn't going to run for re-election. I said, "Paul, you ought to run. Let your constituents decide if you should still be in office." He rejected my advice. He would have lived out his term, and of course he later ran for president. He was a hell of a senator. We served four years together. I had the same attitude about Paul that I have for myself, which is: run! Don't be discouraged! Never give in!