Oh, Jackie O

My friend Lisa recently informed me that actor Gene Wilder developed and recovered from non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Her source? Wikipedia. I was so busy researching some of the top cancer websites that I completely neglected to check out this oft-maligned site.

So I went to the site banned by the history department of Middlebury College and checked out other notable members of the non-Hodgkins lymphoma club:

• Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, widow of former U.S. president John F. Kennedy
• Tim Tobias, jazz pianist
• Gene Wilder, diagnosed in 1999, made a full recovery in 2000.
• U.S. Senator Paul Tsongas
• Hussein of Jordan, former king of Jordan
• British soap opera star Anne Kirkbride
• Velvet Underground guitar player Sterling Morrison
• The former Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi of Iran (although this was probably chronic lymphocytic leukemia).
• Australian opera and musical theatre star Anthony Warlow
• U.S. Nobel Prize laureate Jack S. Kilby, inventor of the integrated circuit
• Croatian basketball player, coach, and diplomat Krešimir Ćosić
• Saku Koivu, NHL star, captain of the Montreal Canadiens.
• British politician Menzies Campbell
• American political commentator and movie critic Steve Sailer, diagnosed with Stage IV NHL in 1997, made a full recovery after getting into a clinical trial, and has been cancer-free ever since.
• Ernie Johnson Jr., American sports broadcaster for TNT and TBS.
• Andres Galarraga, MLB first baseman.
• Joey Ramone, lead singer for The Ramones.
• Saul Bass, American graphic designer.
• Scott Rentrop, professional stuntman of Louisiana
• Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox pitcher
• David Rocastle, English footballer
• Cesar Castillo, American Actor
• John Hartford, American country / bluegrass composer and musician. Died June 4, 2001; after long battle with NHL.
• Mike Tetrault, blues musician

I like being in company with Jackie O, but her choices are not the choices I plan and likely not the choices she would make if she was diagnosed in 2004 instead of 1994. According to Cokie Roberts' book "Founding Mothers," Ms. Onassis decided to start eating desserts after her NHL diagnosis. And according to a NY Times article, "An Onassis Legacy: Facing Death on One's Own Terms," Ms. Onassis refused treatment that could have prolonged her life.

I respect her choice, but I'm grateful to be a member of a different club. In 2007, we "cellmates" have lots of treatment choices and healthy optimism for a full recovery.