White House Press Secretary Tony Snow Gives Last Briefing

Tony Snow, former Fox News Channel anchor, gave his last on-camera press briefing yesterday before he steps down from his post as White House Press Secretary later this week. Snow, 52, was hired as Press Secretary last year but, a few months ago, was diagnosed with a recurrence of colon cancer. Snow had undergone surgery and treatment for his colon cancer in 2005 but the cancer has since spread to his liver. Snow assures that he is resigning not because of the cancer recurrence but, rather, financial issues.

In the White House press briefing he led yesterday, September 12^th, Snow said that his White House Press secretary position was "the most fun I have ever had, the most satisfying, fulfilling job [...] I love these briefings and I'm really going to miss them." After thanking a number of his aides and co-workers, he went about fielding questions that addressed a number of issues, including the General David Petraeus hearings, Iraq, and the U.S. economy. On what will happen for the post-Snow pressroom, the upbeat press secretary said "[T]he business of keeping the press informed will continue to be the object of the press office and life will continue, including for me."

After receiving surgery back in May, Snow has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments for his stage IV colon cancer. Stage IV colon cancer is the most advanced level of colon cancer and occurs when the cancer spreads from the colon to distant organs. While most cases of stage IV colon cancer are currently considered incurable, there have been a number of recently approved drugs that are not only proving successful in shrinking tumors but also helping extend patients' lives much longer than was the case not much more than a decade ago, when there was essentially only one chemotherapy agent, 5 Fluorouracil, available. The drugs available today are so effective in shrinking tumors in some patients that potentially curative surgery is becoming an option for certain, select patients who once had little hope.

According to the American Cancer Society, colon cancer will be diagnosed in 112,340 people in the United States during 2007 and, along with rectal cancer (41,420 new cases this year), will kill some 52,180 people. If detected early, in stage I, colon cancer can be cured more than 90% of the time. Those with stage IV colon cancer generally see cure rates lower than 10%. Colon cancer does not always present symptoms, and the best way to detect if you have colon cancer (and remove potentially cancerous polyps) is to receive a colonoscopy.

Resources:

"How is Colorectal Cancer Treated?" American Cancer Society. 2007. 13 September 2007. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_2_4X_How_Is_Colorectal_Cancer_Treated.asp?sitearea=

"How Many People Get Colorectal Cancer?" American Cancer Society. 2007. 13 September 2007. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_2_1X_How_Many_People_Get_Colorectal_Cancer.asp?sitearea=

"Press Briefing By Tony Snow." White House. 12 September 2007. 13 September 2007. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/09/20070912.html