Thompson’s lymphoma in remission

Fred Thompson, the actor and former U.S. senator who is considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination, disclosed Wednesday that he has a slow-growing type of lymphoma and that, after treatment, the disease is in remission.

The announcement and a detailed medical briefing provided by the hematologist who treated Thompson were interpreted by people close to him as indications that the Tennessean was nearing a decision on whether to launch a campaign for the White House.

Thompson, 64, told the Fox News Channel that he disclosed his ailment because he wanted to “shoot straight with the American people and see how they react to it.”

During a physical in 2004, a doctor discovered a small lump in the vicinity of his left jaw that was later diagnosed as marginal zone lymphoma. His doctor, Bruce D. Cheson, head of hematology at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, described it in a news conference Wednesday as an “indolent” lymphoma.

Cheson said Thompson responded favorably to treatment with Rituxan a year ago and showed no ill effects from the disease or the treatment. Those with the condition, he said, “can travel, they can work, they can possibly be president of the United States.”

The disease affects the lymph nodes and varies greatly in its effects on the immune system.

The type Thomspon has “is classified as a malignancy, but it is nothing like lung cancer or breast cancer,” said John Timmerman, a lymphoma expert at UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center, who was not involved in treating Thompson. “Average survival is measured often in decades, not years.”

Thompson’s disclosure, in a blog under his name and in an interview with FoxNews Channel’s Neil Cavuto, was the latest high-profile revelation of cancer afflicting a public figure.

Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of Democratic presidential contender John Edwards, recently announced that breast cancer for which she was treated after the 2004 election had returned. And White House Press Secretary Tony Snow is about to begin treatment for a recurrence of colon cancer.

Thompson’s announcement also put a renewed spotlight on the health of presidential candidates. Among other GOP aspirants, Sen. John McCain of Arizona has undergone surgery for skin cancer and former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani underwent treatment for prostate cancer.

Paul Tsongas sought the 1992 Democratic presidential nomination as a cancer survivor. He had a bone-marrow transplant six years earlier for treatment of a lymphoma considered much more aggressive than the variant of the disease Thompson has.

Tsongas died in early 1997, two days before what would have been the end of his first term had he been elected.

Thompson, who first gained national attention as a young lawyer serving as the Republican counsel for the Senate Watergate Committee more than three decades ago, is an actor known for his portrayal of the chief district attorney on the “Law and Order” television series. He served in the U.S. Senate from 1994 to 2003, deciding to retire rather than seek reelection.

Dissatisfaction with the party’s current presidential contenders among social conservatives within the GOP sparked interest in Thompson about a month ago.

In a sign of his potential appeal, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll published today found Thompson in second place in the Republican race, behind Giuliani and, without having campaigned, ahead of McCain.

A friend who has known Thompson for many years said the former senator had scheduled a meeting next week with Republican members of Congress who had been encouraging him to run. Thompson is “getting ready to make a decision sooner rather than later,” said the friend, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

In his Web posting, Thompson wrote of his lymphoma: “I have had no illness from it, or even any symptoms. My life expectancy should not be affected. I am in remission, and it is very treatable with drugs if treatment is needed in the future -- and with no debilitating side effects.”

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james.gerstenzang@latimes.com