Arlen Specter Can't Fund A Clean Bill of Health

A little while ago, we told you about Sen. Arlen Specter's book about how he overcame Hodgkin's disease in 2005. Turns out, though, he wasn't completely out of the woods.

Sen. Arlen Specter's Hodgkin's disease, which he battled in 2005, has recurred, but doctors said that its return was detected early and that Specter has an "excellent chance" of once again achieving remission, according to a statement issued Tuesday by the senator's office.

Specter, 78, will continue to perform his Senate duties and conduct his campaign for re-election to a sixth term but will undergo 12 weeks of chemotherapy, the written statement said. The recurrence was found during a routine scan, which flagged small lymph nodes in Specter's chest and abdomen. A follow-up biopsy of one of the chest lymph nodes was positive for recurrence, but a bone marrow biopsy was negative.

Doctors cite the early diagnosis as the explanation for the optimism they have this go around. The senator says that he's beaten a lot of political opponents during his career and he is ready to win this second bout with Hodgkin's disease. We can't help but wonder when the next book in the miniseries is due out.

[CNN]