I Have Cancer

The following statement was released on April 30, 2002.

Like millions of other Americans, I have been diagnosed with cancer. Since I just learned about my illness last Friday, I am still getting used to the idea. In the coming days and weeks, I will be seeking further diagnosis and discussing treatment options with physicians and my family. During this time, I would appreciate the news media and the public respecting our privacy.

I have spent a good part of my career studying men and women who faced uncertainty about the future. Now I find myself facing a great challenge, and I am focusing on a course of action based on a balance of good sense and cautious optimism. I have a lot left to say and to write about our nation's history, the American spirit and personal leadership. I will take heart from the lessons I've learned over the years from these experiences as I deal with my own future.

Editor's Note

Mr. Ambrose's next book, Mississippi and the Making of a Nation, co-authored with Douglas Brinkley, will be published in the fall. Mr. Brinkley, who succeeded Ambrose as head of the University of New Orleans Eisenhower Center, told the New Orleans Times-Picayune:"His whole life has been one of a maverick slugging away against all sorts of odds. I have no doubt he is going to show the personal heroism, like the soldiers he writes about, in his own personal battle." Mr. Ambrose is working on two other books: his autobiography, tentatively titled,"A Love Song to America" and a history of the war in the Pacific during World War II. His son Hugh Ambrose told the Associated Press that his father will have to cut back on some commitments:"This is a serious condition, and he's going to have to focus on getting good treatment."

The Associated Press picked up the story on May 1. The accounts included a brief reference to the controversy involving plagiarism:"[Mr. Ambrose] has come under scrutiny recently after at least six of his books have been questioned for failing to properly credit source material. Ambrose has apologized for lifting passages from other authors."