College President James Freedman will undergo six months of chemotherapy to treat lymphoma discovered following surgery in Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital on Monday, according to a College statement.
Freedman had surgery to remove a testicular tumor, which laboratory tests confirmed was cancerous, according to the statement. Freedman will remain in the hospital for further tests, but will return to Hanover by this weekend, it stated.
Freedman has a "highly treatable form of cancer," College Spokesman Alex Huppe said. "It responds very well to treatment." Huppe said doctors detected the cancer early in its development, which is a key to successful treatment.
Although Freedman will undergo eight rounds of chemotherapy over the next six months at Mass General, he will still be able to perform his job, according to the press statement.
The statement did not expand on the specific dates of the sessions or how long Freedman would be away from Hanover each time.
"I'm told the treatment will not in any way impair his ability to perform all his duties as president," Chair of the Board of Trustees John Rosenwald said. "We're delighted the surgery went well, we're delighted it was caught early and we wish him well."
Rosenwald said the Trustees will still have their meeting two weekends from now and that he expects Freedman to be at the meeting. He said he does not expect Freedman to take his six-month sabbatical - scheduled to begin next Jan. 1 - early.
"The president is optimistic," Huppe said. "This is lousy news, but it could be a lot worse ... We're optimistic that his health will be fully restored and that's what we're hoping for."
Lymphoma is a type of cancer that develops in the lymphatic system, which is part of the immune system, according to the Cancer Information Service of New England.
As lymphoma progresses, the body is less able to fight infection. The most common form of lymphoma is a Hodgkin's lymphoma. Huppe said Freedman has non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
"In the non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, cells in the lymphatic system grow abnormally," a Cancer Information Service's pamphlet stated. "They divide too rapidly and grow without any order. Too much tissue is formed and tumors begin to grow. The cancer cells also spread to other organs."
Huppe said Freedman is currently fatigued and in some discomfort, but not an unusually large amount.
Chemotherapy is a combination of drugs used to stop cancerous cells from growing and multiplying.
Common side effects from chemotherapy include loss of appetite and fatigue, according to the Cancer Information Service's pamphlet.
"The side effects that patients have during cancer therapy vary from person to person and may even be different from one treatment to the next," the pamphlet stated.
Freedman was not available for comment yesterday.
