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DALLAS - Former Texas Gov. Ann Richards said this week that she is undergoing chemotherapy that periodically saps her energy but is optimistic about recovery and confident she will conquer cancer of the esophagus.
"There is no doubt in my mind I will recover from this," she said. "I feel really positive about it."
In her first detailed public discussion about last month's cancer diagnosis, Richards, 72, said doctors would review her condition after three more weeks of chemotherapy before deciding the next step, which could include radiation or surgery. She looked strong and upbeat as she talked with reporters.
Richards is halfway through a six-week regimen of chemotherapy at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. She is receiving treatment once a week on an outpatient basis, although she would relocate temporarily to Houston should doctors determine that daily radiation treatments were necessary.
She joked that although the cancer had made it more difficult to swallow, "I'm sorry to say it wasn't so difficult I couldn't eat, so I didn't lose any weight."
Richards said she doesn't know what further treatment might be necessary.
"I don't live in tomorrow. One thing about having cancer, it teaches you in a hurry about what's really important, and that's today," she said, adding that if surgery is necessary, she's ready.
In the meanwhile, Richards expressed appreciation for the outpouring of support since her diagnosis. She said she got cards and calls from well-wishers, including cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong, and President Bush, who defeated her in her 1994 bid for re-election.
Plus, she has received enough flowers to make "my house look like a funeral home for a while." She joked: "If I had known people would be so nice to me, I might have done this sooner."
She said she did not know in what stage her cancer was detected. She also said she didn't know the size of the tumor, but expressed confidence that doctors could remove it if necessary.
Recalling the bruising 1990 race that made her governor, Richards said, "If I can beat Clayton Williams, I can beat this."
Esophageal cancer, among the more deadly cancers, can be difficult to detect early. Symptoms include difficulty swallowing, weight loss and a lump in the throat.
Risk factors include long-term, heavy smoking and drinking of alcohol. Richards is a recovering alcoholic and smoked cigarettes for several years.
Richards talked about her cancer treatment during an appearance Tuesday announcing the establishment of an all-girls school in Austin, Texas, that will bear her name.
The Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders is scheduled to open in fall 2007, modeled after a similar public academy in Harlem. That school boasts a high college attendance rate among graduates, and its program has been copied elsewhere.
Lee Posey, chairman of Dallas-based mobile home manufacturer Palm Harbor Homes, provided $1 million for the Ann Richards School. He and his wife, Sally, were instrumental in creating a Dallas academy as well.
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(c) 2006, The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service.
