Steven Van Zandt and Jamie Raskin.Photo: ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images; Jamie Raskin Twitter
Maryland Democratic Rep.Jamie Raskinis feeling the love after announcing his cancer diagnosis two months ago.
The congressman took to Twitter on Saturday to thankmusician and actor Steve Van Zandtforsending him head scarvesduring his chemotherapy treatment.
“Look what I received from one of the greatest musicians on earth,” Raskin tweeted. “A gift I will treasure almost as much as his song ‘I Am a Patriot.’ You are about to see a step up in my chemo head-cover fashions for the next few months.”
“Rock on Stevie, keep spreading the light,” Raskin concluded.
Van Zandt, aSopranosalum and member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, retweeted the congressman’s note with a message of his own.
“That gift is from all of us who want to thank you every day for giving us hope that there is a politician that cares about justice!” Van Zandt wrote in response. “Here’s to arapid complete recovery.”
Raskinrevealed his diagnosis with a “serious but curable form of cancer” in late December. Despite the diagnosis, he plans to carry on as a congressman, according to a press release issued at the time.
“After several days of tests,I have been diagnosed with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma,” he said in a statement. “I am about to embark on a course of chemo-immunotherapy on an outpatient basis at Med Star Georgetown University Hospital and Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Prognosis for most people in my situation is excellent after four months of treatment.”
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Raskin, who’s been serving as the U.S. representative for Maryland’s 8th congressional district since 2017, also discussed the side effects of chemotherapy, which include “hair loss and weight gain” as well as impairing natural antibodies and undermining the body’s immune system.
The politician also said he remains hopeful following the diagnosis.
Jamie Raskin.Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call/Getty
“With the benefit of early detection and fine doctors, the help of my extraordinary staff, the love of [wife] Sarah and our daughters and sons-in-law (actual and to-be) and family and friends, and the support of my beloved constituents and my colleagues in the House, I plan to get through this and, in the meantime, to keep making progress every day in Congress for American democracy,” he said.
In November 2022, he was elected to a fourth term as a congressman after winning 80 percent of the vote.
source: people.com
