Georgia Rep. John Lewis in 2019.Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call

Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., waits to enter the Senate chamber to listen to the farewell address of the Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in the Capitol on Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Rep. John Lewis spoke out for the first time since his office announced his stage IV pancreatic cancer diagnosis earlier this week, saying he is “ready for the fight.”

The longtime congressman and renowned Civil Rights activist spoke withThe Atlanta Journal-Constitutionon New Year’s Eve about his diagnosis.

“It is a challenge and a fight. But I have had challenges before and been fighting all my life,” Lewis toldThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I am ready for the fight. I will go through the treatment and face the day each day like it is a new day. I will continue to be hopeful and optimistic.”

Pancreatic cancer is thethird-leadingcause of cancer deaths in the United States. Patients often don’t exhibit symptoms until the cancer is already in its late stages,accordingto the National Institutes of Health.

Doctors discovered his stage IV cancer during a routine checkup, Lewis said in an announcement on Sunday.

“While I am clear-eyed about the prognosis, doctors have told me that recent medical advances have made this type of cancer treatable in many cases, that treatment options are no longer as debilitating as they once were, and that I have a fighting chance,” Lewis, 79, said in the statement.

President Barack Obama hugs Rep. John Lewis o the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday”.Jacquelyn Martin/AP/Shutterstock

Barack Obama embraces Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., after Lewis introduced the president with an emotional speech by the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., on the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” a landmark event of the civil rights movement, . Rep. Lewis was beaten during “Bloody Sunday” and is a leader of the civil rights movement Obama Selma 50th, Selma, USA

Rep. Lewis was one of the key speakers at the March on Washington in 1963 where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. He was also a leader at the march in Selma, Alabama, on March 7, 1965.

PresidentBarack Obamaawarded Rep. Lewis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his life’s work in 2011.

The congressman toldThe Atlanta Journal-Constitutionhe’s feeling good despite the diagnosis.

“I am doing good,” he told the newspaper. “I am feeling well.”

Rep. Lewis also toldThe Atlanta Journal-Constitutionthat he’s not planning on retiring or giving up his seat in the House, which he’s held for 32 years since he was first elected in 1986.

He also thanked everyone for the well wishes, which poured in after his office released a statement Sunday announcing his diagnosis.

source: people.com