State Sen. Stanley Rosenberg still not back at State House
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State Sen. Stanley Rosenberg was hospitalized a second time in December due to complications following cancer treatment and now hopes to return to work at the State House in April.
In a telephone interview Tuesday, the Amherst Democrat said he is slowly returning to full health after experiencing another bout of complications arising from radiation and chemotherapy he received for squamous cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer that was diagnosed in September.
Rosenberg said he is now working half time, making and receiving phone calls and consulting with fellow senators about bills before the Legislature.
"I just don't go out to community events and to the State House," Rosenberg said.
His absence from Beacon Hill means he cannot vote on bills before the Senate, Rosenberg said.
"I am still in the loop and have some influence on what is being voted on," he said, citing a recently passed supplemental budget that included money for the Franklin and Hampshire County sheriff offices and $21 million for heating assistance to low-income families.
Rosenberg, the third ranking Democrat in the Senate, had initially said he expected to return to work full time by the first of the year.
Before the most recent setback, Rosenberg was treated at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton for 12 days in November for severe dehydration. He said his December stay at Cooley Dickinson lasted 10 days. He declined to describe the reason for his second hospitalization in detail, calling it an "internal," "non-life-threatening" complication that requires rest.
"It's all side effects and complications, nothing to do with cancer," said Rosenberg, who completed his radiation and chemotherapy treatment in November. "Because of the complications the doctors say I have to stay home and rest, and they say it's going to take a good three or four months to heal."
Rosenberg said he hopes to return to work at the State House on April 15, but will learn when he talks with his doctor Feb. 21 if that goal is realistic.
No announcement was made of Rosenberg's hospitalization in December because it was totally unexpected, he said. "I went in for a routine doctor's appointment and ended up staying."
Rosenberg said he was released from the hospital on Dec. 31 and did not work the first week of January. Since then he has been gradually increasing his work load, he said.
For instance, Rosenberg said, he was scheduled to talk Tuesday with Senate Ways and Mean Chairman Stephen Brewer, D-Barre Democrat, regarding several bills he has before Brewer's committee.
Rosenberg's first hospitalization coincided with a hectic conclusion to the legislative session on Beacon Hill. The Legislature approved new congressional districts on Nov. 9. A week later it approved a bill that would legalize casino gaming in the state.
Rosenberg was heavily involved in steering both measures through the Legislature, serving as the cochairman of the redistricting committee and the Senate's point man on casinos.
He said the work load likely contributed to his experiencing complications related to his cancer treatments, noting that the difficulties did not arise until his fifth week of treatment.
"I think the stress of the treatment and the stress of the work did play a role in what happened in week five," he said.
