Howard County School Superintendent, Away Battling Lymphoma, Could Soon Be Returning to Work

Howard County schools superintendent Sydney L. Cousin is expected to return to work in about two weeks after spending the past several months on indefinite medical leave battling cancer.

Cousin, who is in his mid-60s, was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system. He began his medical leave in early January.

His return will come after Spring Break, with a tentative date of Thursday, April 28, according to Patti Caplan, spokeswoman for the Howard County Public School System.

“He is on target as far as his progress is concerned,” Caplan said. “His schedule has not been determined yet, but he will undoubtedly want to ease back into things with some half days at first.”

Other administrative staff members have been handling Cousin’s duties in his absence.

Throughout that time, however, Cousin “has been kept abreast of everything that’s been going on,” Caplan said. “Knowing him, I’m sure he intends to hit the ground running, but it will all depend on his stamina.”

Cousin has been with the Howard County Public School system since 1987, when he was hired as Director of School Construction and Planning. Prior to that he had been a junior high history teacher in Baltimore for three years beginning in 1967, and then had worked in other roles for the Baltimore city government and city school system.

Cousin was employed in several administrative positions in the Howard County school system, leaving in July 2003 but returning just eight months later, in March 2004, to become interim superintendent. That "interim" tag was soon dropped. He is now in his second, four-year term as superintendent.

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma refers to several types of cancers that affect a patient’s immune system, often the lymph nodes and the spleen, according to the National Institutes of Health. The disease can take many different courses, spreading fairly slowly, or aggressively moving through a patient’s body.

Treatments vary depending on the specific type of disease, but they can include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant and blood transfusion. According to the NIH, Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is slightly more common in men than women.

“It will really be great to have him back, mainly because we have all been so worried about him,” Caplan said. “I am sure I’m not alone in feeling very encouraged that he is on track to return as planned.”