Former GOP state senator confirms cancer diagnosis

A former Republican state senator has been diagnosed with the same form of blood cancer as Gov. Larry Hogan.

Former Sen. Nancy Jacobs, R-Harford County, announced Thursday on Facebook and in an email to reporters that she has been diagnosed with B-cell non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

“Although any cancer diagnosis is alarming, my doctors are confident that the cancer is slow growing and not aggressive,” Jacobs wrote in an email. “My family and I are humbled by the overwhelming support, prayers, and love we have received during this time.”

Jacobs, who served in Senate from 1999 until last year following four years in the House of Delegates, said she recently underwent surgery to remove a portion of her thyroid and will undergo treatment at the University of Maryland Medical Center, where Hogan was treated.

Amelia Chasse, a Hogan spokeswoman, said the governor has talked to Jacobs on several occasions before and after her diagnosis and referred her to Dr. Aaron Rapoport, who was part of the team that treated him.

“The governor has offered her his support and solidarity,” Chasse said.

Jacobs’ announcement came on the same day Hogan highlighted the state’s quadrennial plan to fight cancer in Maryland.

Hogan has become a visible advocate on the issue since being diagnosed with lymphoma in June 2015. He declared in November that he was cancer free after 30 days of 24-hour chemotherapy over four months.

Hogan, who also held a blood drive outside the governor’s mansion Thursday, told reporters during the event that he has continued maintenance treatment and remains cancer free.

“I just had a PET scan done a few weeks ago,” Hogan said after the announcement. “I’m completely cancer-free, and I have one more treatment, and then I’ll be hopefully done with it forever.”