In his lifetime, Congressman and civil rights legend John Lewis of Georgia has fought and led many battles.
The former student activist was arrested at least 40 times in the civil rights era, several more times as a congressman since being elected in 1986 and only recently he has been rallying to help reunite immigrant families separated by the Trump administration.
For his lifetime of service, President Barack Obama presented a 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom to Lewis during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington.
Lewis whose skull was fractured at the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” civil rights march in Selma, Alabama, is now facing a different kind of foe — advanced pancreatic cancer.
The 79-year-old congressman recently announced he will receive treatment for stage 4 pancreatic cancer that was detected earlier in December and confirmed in a diagnosis.
“I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now,” said Lewis. Former President Barack Obama presented the man called the “Conscience of the U.S. Congress” with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
The congressman faces a tough battle.
The American Cancer Society estimates only 3% of patients with stage 4 pancreatic cancer are alive five years after being diagnosed.
African Americans are slightly more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than whites, according to the American Cancer Society. “The reasons for this aren’t clear, but it may be due in part to having higher rates of some other risk factors for pancreatic cancer, such as diabetes, smoking and being overweight.”
Although “clear-eyed” about his disease, Lewis will continue to fight for the causes he believes in as well as his battle against cancer.
The youngest and last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists, a group once led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis made clear that he has no plans to step aside from power while he undergoes treatment
He said being elected to Congress “has been the honor of a lifetime” and that he will continue working for his constituents from Capitol Hill.
“I have been in some kind of fight — for freedom, equality, basic human rights — for nearly my entire life,” he said.
Added Lewis: “I have a fighting chance.”
We are praying for the full recovery of this courageous and committed leader who is often referred to as the “Conscience of the U.S. Congress.” He will undoubtedly fight cancer with the tenacity that he fought racial discrimination and other inequalities.
(Reprinted from the Philadelphia Tribune)
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