April 7, 2005
I first met Peter Jennings in 1968 when we both were covering the trial of the radical H. Rap Brown in Ellicott City, Maryland.
Since then, I have seen him many times.
He has always been kind, responsive and a very nice man.
That's why it is especially hurtful to learn that Peter has lung cancer.
He will take time off from "World News Tonight" to receive treatment and while science and medicine have made advances in lung cancer treatment in recent years, survival statistics are not good.
The American Cancer Society reports that 60 percent of lung cancer patients succumb within a year of diagnosis.
It estimates more than 163,000 people will die of the disease this year.
Only about 15 percent of patients are alive five years after diagnosis.
In recent years, Peter Jennings has taken a strong interest in religion and spirituality.
Please pray for him, as I will, that he will not only have a breakthrough with his lung cancer, but he will have a spiritual breakthrough and find the one true God we all will meet, whether we die healthy or not.
I'm Cal Thomas in Washington.
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C. Watch his television show, After Hours with Cal Thomas, on the Fox News Channel, Saturdays at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
