Former Gov. Richards has cancer
Ann Richards meets cancer fight 'head-on'
She'll be treated for a tumor in her esophagus at M.D. Anderson
By POLLY ROSS HUGHES and TODD ACKERMAN
AUSTIN - Former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, known for fighting medical problems with candor and courage, said Wednesday that she's been diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus and will be treated at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
The disease is one of the most lethal of cancers, but oncologists said Wednesday that recent detection and treatment advances have improved patients' chances. And a close friend of Richards' said the former governor has been advised that her condition is treatable.
"She's handling it very well," said utility lobbyist John Fainter of Austin, Richards' chief of staff as governor and friend of 30 years. "It's like she attacks most of the problems in her life. She meets them head-on and gets them solved."
Richards, 72, learned of the diagnosis on Tuesday, after undergoing testing at North Austin Medical Center on Monday, said her spokesman Bill Maddox. The medical records were sent overnight to M.D. Anderson on Tuesday night.
"They're going to review them, after which a decision will be made on when Governor Richards will be admitted," said Maddox.
Richards, who is known for her quick wit, razor-sharp tongue and snowy white hair, spent Wednesday afternoon at her Austin office responding to calls from friends and family, he said.
She was Texas' 45th governor, a Democrat serving from 1991 to 1995. She lost her re-election bid to George W. Bush in 1994, and since 2001 has served as a senior adviser at Public Strategies Inc., where she has represented clients in New York and in Austin.
In 1996, Richards was diagnosed with the bone-weakening disease osteoporosis. She later shared her fight with the condition in her book, I'm Not Slowing Down — Winning My Battle With Osteoporosis, published in August 2003.
"Ann Richards holds a special place in Texas history," Gov. Rick Perry said in a statement issued in response to the news of her cancer diagnosis. "Anita and I join Texans across the state in sending our prayers and best wishes."
Maddox said Richards has a type of esophageal cancer known as squamous cell carcinoma. Though squamous cell is typically found in the upper area of the esophagus, where it's often not removable, Maddox said Richards' tumor is in the middle area. Cancers of the esophagus are most easily removed in the lower third.
Esophageal cancer is a fairly rare cancer, affecting five of every 100,000 Americans. But it kills 90 percent of those diagnosed within five years and ranks as the seventh-leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.
The American Cancer Society estimates 14,500 Americans will be diagnosed with it this year and 13,500 will die from it.
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