Bob Novak: I Don't Expect To Beat This Cancer

I spoke to Bob Novak this morning for about 10 minutes. He's leaving Thursday for Duke University Hospital where he will have tumor reduction surgery performed by the same surgeon who operated on Ted Kennedy. After a two week stay in Durham, he will return to his home in Washington to receive chemo and radiation treatment.

Bob said he hoped that the treatment would improve his quality of life as well as extend it. When I asked him whether he thought he could beat the cancer, he said he didn't think so. He also said that some of his doctors have counseled against the surgery, but he thinks they were being too conservative.

Bob received an unexpected but welcomed phone call from Ted Kennedy's wife, wishing him well. When I asked him whether I could visit when he returns to Washington he said, "When you're 77 years old, and you have brain surgery, anything can happen." I told him that if something did happen there would, of course, be grief, but I believed that in the "blink of an eye" we would be seeing each other in Heaven. He replied that he thought that that was a good way to think about it.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[amazinggrace]

I love the fact that Ted Kennedy's wife called Robert Novak. The Kennedys are a class act all of the way.

I never really cared for Robert Novak, never ever agreed with him on anything but I wish him the best It is amazing how something like cancer can humble even the toughest of people.

Good luck to you, Bob Novak. Hope that you beat this dreadful disease.

[haleywins]

Very sorry to hear this, God bless you and your family.

[Einstein44]

The power of prayer is always at hand...Blessings to you and your family.

[Cowtippin]

Oh come on Bob don't give up. Even though I can't stand your jaded views I would miss seeing your lips flap while riding the GOP rollercoaster of deceit. Your tougher than you think. We need fellows like you because the world is a two sided coin and you can win this toss. Hang in there pal.

[coolmaiden]

Have any of you people sticking your nose into Mr. Novak's business and interjecting your own opinion ever seen someone go through cancer treatment? Even for those with high survival rates, it is a brutal, toxic, exhausting process. Many people whom have beaten cancer once say they will never go through it again if it were to recur. I disagreed with almost everything Mr. Novak had to say except this. It is HIS life, and his quality of life, so all of you Norman Vincent Peale wannabes please discuss something you actually know.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Heaven?

[ashabot]

Heaven... no waiting. Residents instantly get whatever they want, whenever they want it. The rest of the time they loll around on clouds with the Big Guy playing their harps.

[jasjohn128]

I'd like a smoking cloud, please, and a very dry martini.

[trollsbwild]

Good luck, Bob. Never give up.

[genia]

Oh...Mr. Novak needs an attitude adjustment. Wouldn't hurt to try....but...maybe he just senses things.
Good luck to him...his family..his loved ones. May he find the courage to fight.

[GeoLee]

The audacity of hope is fine when you are much younger and the belief that if you can you will and if you can't you won't (often spoken by people who have never faced anything this serious) when you are Bob's age, the reality is that hope changes from hope of mere survival to the hope that you do not leave this world with things unsaid to the ones you love and the hope you have made a positive difference in the lives of others, especially the ones you absolutely need to . I wish you well in your journey. I hope you find peace and seek atonement for the things you need to and faith and lovestong enough to carry you though the difficult times ahead ...and I hope for the strength for your family to meet what will come with the same kind of faith and love.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Best wishes.

Just wondering if there might have been a connection between the tumor and Mr. Novak's pedestrian accident last month.

[FogBelter]

"Argue for your limitations, and sure enough they're yours." Richard Bach

[OtayPanky]

Oh, please.

Richard Bach is going to die of something too, no matter how much he argues against it.

Novak's simply making peace with his own mortality.

Show a little decency and human respect.

[FogBelter]

Once you give up you are already dead. I consider "making peace with his own mortality" giving up.

I was showing decency and human respect ... I was encouraging him to fight.

[grannysharp]

Bob I wish you this best and maybe you could do a novena to St. Jude, bet he could help you through this and remember what Obama says Yes we/you can !!!! Good luck think positive and keep the faith

[FaceYourFears]

Well Bob if you say you don't expect to beat it guess what.....you won't! You have what you speak so start speaking positive....my best to you.

[billkarwin]

Yep. A friend of mine likes to say, "whether you think you can or you think you can't -- you're probably right."

Best wishes to Bob Novak and to his family.

[steamboat]

Bob, give it your best shot. Stay positive. Best always.