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Lt. Gov. Knoll "Optimistic" About Cancer Treatment

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Aug 21, 2008 11:54 am US/Eastern

Lt. Gov. Knoll "Optimistic" About Cancer Treatment

HARRISBURG (AP) ― Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll is being treated for cancer but plans to resume a full work schedule and preside over the state Senate, "gavel in hand," when lawmakers reconvene next month.

Knoll, 77, the first woman elected to be Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor, is a native of the Pittsburgh suburb of McKees Rocks. She took office in January 2003 along with Gov. Ed Rendell, and their second terms expire in January 2011.

In a letter posted on her government Web site Wednesday, Knoll said she was diagnosed earlier this summer with neuroendocrine illness, a form of cancer.

In a statement issued Thursday, she said the cancer was detected during a routine medical examination and that she had not felt any symptoms prior to that.

"Much to the surprise of my family and close friends, I'm being obedient, doing what the doctors tell me to do," the letter said. "Those doctors say I'm responding well. Although the treatments will continue, the outlook is good. I'm optimistic. Most of all, I feel fine and I anticipate resuming a full work schedule."

Rendell said he and his wife, U.S. Circuit Judge Marjorie O. Rendell, were "deeply saddened" by the news of Knoll's diagnosis.

"To know Catherine is to understand that she is a person of incredible strength and determination," Rendell said in a statement. "These qualities will help her through this difficult time."

Besides her duties as Senate president, Knoll chairs the state Board of Pardons and serves on the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Council and the Local Government Advisory Committee.

Before she was elected lieutenant governor, Knoll served two four-year terms as state treasurer. She ran for governor in 1994, but lost the Democratic nomination to then-Lt. Gov. Mark Singel.

Under the state constitution, if Knoll is unable to complete her term, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati would become lieutenant governor.

Scarnati, R-Jefferson, underwent surgery earlier this year to remove papillary thyroid cancer.




(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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