Tsongas Tests Discover Cancer, Paper Reports
A growth in former Democratic presidential candidate Paul E. Tsongas’ abdomen is cancerous, but his doctors have said it can be treated, a newspaper reported Wednesday.
Tsongas will probably undergo radiation treatment, the Boston Globe reported, citing an unidentified source close to the former senator.
But in a telephone interview from his Lowell home, Tsongas said, “I’m not going to confirm anything.” He called the newspaper story “speculation” and said he would speak at a news conference Monday.
Tsongas underwent a biopsy of the abdominal lump last week.
A cancer recurrence would be the second relapse for Tsongas, 51, who decided not to seek reelection to the Senate in 1984 after he had been diagnosed with lymphoma.
He often asserted that treatment had left him free of cancer and sufficiently healthy to become President.
But after he dropped out of the race his doctors said Tsongas had had a recurrence in 1987, which was successfully treated.
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