Bartlett Back On The Job After Cancer Treatment

Veteran Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr., who was recently diagnosed with cancer, returned to work on Wednesday when he attended a freeholder board caucus meeting, according to app.com.

Bartlett, 69, recently finished up rounds of chemotherapy and proton beam radiation for colorectal cancer at the University of Pennsylvania.

"It's certainly nice to be back," Bartlett said Wednesday. "The University of Pennsylvania is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there."

He intends to maintain his freeholder schedule for the next eight weeks. Then he will return to the hospital for about five days for surgery to remove any remaining malignant tissue.

"The proton therapy is a new cancer treatment, relatively new, there are only 14 of these units in the United States and UPenn's — cost them $140 million," Bartlett said. "The science behind the proton therapy is that they can direct the radiation directly where they want it. In normal radiation, it radiates all the way through."

Bartlett said the new therapy was easier on him than treatment with conventional radiation therapy. That made the daily commutes to Philadelphia less difficult.

"The last time I was in the hospital I was five years old and and had my tonsils out, and they were still using ether," Bartlett quipped. "All is well now. I look at it as if I've gotten to first base and as far as the cancer goes, it's highly treatable and that should be no problem at all and everything should be fine with that. It's a matter now of the operation, and taking things apart and putting it back together."

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Photo credit: Ocean County Government website.