Reporter Reflects: Snow's Cancer Hits Home
March 27, 2007 — -- The first long chat I had with Tony Snow was about his cancer was just before he started as White House press secretary. He was making the rounds, talking to the reporters in the press briefing center, letting us get to know him as a person -- before we started grilling him. And getting to know him meant understanding his experience as a cancer survivor.
When Snow walked into the ABC booth, his sleeves were rolled up and his yellow cancer-awareness bracelet, as always, was on display. He talked about chemotherapy. Surgery. Adjusting. He shared some rather intimate details. It seemed he was personally fascinated by the odd tortures he had submitted to during his cancer treatment, and eager to let us know what cancer patients endure and survive. What he had endured and survived. At his first briefing as White House press secretary he would later describe cancer as "the best thing that ever happened to me." It's not hard to understand what he meant: It taught him to take risks and enjoy life as much as possible. He would later say it's one of the reasons he came to the White House -- he wanted to enjoy more of life's experiences.
One of the odd questions from my vantage is how appropriate is it for the press to be emotional about something like this? We have an adversarial working relationship with Tony and his press team, but there are weeks when we spend more time with them than with our closest friends. We share many bizarre and intense experiences -- the marathon overseas trips, the ridiculous hours, the demand to get information now or else. It's impossible not to form a bond.
Tony Snow has been remarkably open about his cancer. Just last week, he praised Elizabeth Edwards, saying, "As somebody who has been through this, Elizabeth Edwards is setting a powerful example for a lot of people, and a good and positive one. She's being aggressive. She's living an active life. And a positive attitude, prayers, and people you love are always a very good addition to any kind of medicine you have. So for Elizabeth Edwards, good going; our prayers are with you."
At the time, we didn't know that had particular resonance for him. The next day, after he announced his surgery plans, he emphasized just how important he thinks it is for cancer survivors to be open about their experiences. To demonstrate you can go on with life through treatment and thrive after. It's what he says he plans to do.
It must be a bizarre and possibly macabre experience for Snow to get this diagnosis and then see talking heads discuss his fate on television. But Tony Snow seems to be an experience junkie -- a person who sees these turns as a chance to learn something new and see life through an increasingly nuanced prism. And he seems also committed to being an example for others to be aggressive, optimistic cancer survivors.
It's a learning experience from this side of the podium, too. Helen Thomas, dean of the White House press corps, insists feeling emotional is perfectly appropriate. "We can separate the personal from the professional," she told ABC today, insisting that doesn't mean anyone will pull his or her punches in the press room. She said, "I hope he comes back," then added with a chuckle, "I'll go as hard on him as ever. That's what he'd want."
Jessica Yellin covers the White House for ABC News.