Mass. State Senator Diagnosed With Skin Cancer

The third-ranking Democrat in the state Senate says cancer might slow him down, but it won't stop him. Sen. Stanley Rosenberg of Amherst said Thursday he expects to continue working part-time during treatment for a common form of skin cancer, squamous cell carcinoma.

He tells The Daily Hampshire Gazette he was diagnosed earlier this week while undergoing an unrelated procedure in Boston.

The 61-year-old Senate President Pro Tem says will undergo five weeks of treatment, with five to ten minutes of radiation Mondays through Fridays. He will also have two rounds of chemotherapy. He expects then to need two weeks for recovery.

Rosenberg is co-chairman of the state's redistricting committee, which is redrawing the state's congressional districts.

He has been a state lawmaker since 1987, a senator since 1991.