July 24th, 2015 by WCBC Radio

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Thursday that the tumor in his neck that led to the discovery of his cancer has shrunk considerably after two rounds of chemotherapy — a sign, he said, that he is responding well to treatment.

The doctors “are very, very pleased. They are almost shocked at how well I’m doing,” Hogan (R) said during a phone interview from his room at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, shortly before he was discharged on Thursday afternoon. “They think the odds are great. I’m doing better than expected.”

The governor, who was hospitalized Sunday to begin his second chemo session, has lost some of his hair as a result of the treatment and must limit his contact with the public for fear of exposure to germs. Otherwise, he said, the chemotherapy drugs have had minimal effect on his ability to function.

“Every day, they go over a whole list: Are you feeling this? Do you have this symptom? Is this bothering you? I keep saying, ‘No, I feel great,’ ” Hogan said. “And they are all scratching their heads, because they can’t figure out why I’m feeling so good.”

Hogan, who had more than 30 tumors in his neck, chest, abdomen and groin when he was diagnosed with aggressive non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, said the growth in his neck has shrunk by about 80 percent, in his own estimation. “I’m hoping the same thing is happening everywhere,” he said.