Reagan Recovery Called Spectacular : Results of Tests for Cancer to Be Released Today

BETHESDA, Md. —  President Reagan was described by doctors Sunday as on “a spectacular post-operative course,” but a senior aide said it “won’t surprise us” if tests to be completed today show cancerous cells in the tumor removed along with a section of Reagan’s colon in major abdominal surgery Saturday.

Reagan, telling aides that “I’m amazed at how good I feel,” was described as poring over briefing papers, urging action on a congressional budget impasse, sitting up reading a Western adventure novel and walking briefly in his suite the day after he underwent nearly three hours of surgery at Bethesda Naval Medical Center in suburban Washington.

‘Chomping at the Bit’

“The President’s frame of mind is excellent. He’s feeling well, and he’s chomping at the bit to do a little more than the doctors want him to,” White House spokesman Larry Speakes said.

Dr. Dale Oller, who led the surgical team, said in comments relayed through Speakes that “the President is on a postoperative course that surpasses by 99.9% all patients who undergo this type surgery. That includes all patients, much less one who is 74 years old.”

Reagan’s vital signs “are rock stable,” Oller said. “So far, it is a spectacular postoperative course.”

Pathologists, meanwhile, are making exhaustive laboratory examination of a polyp, which is a growth about two inches in diameter, and a two-foot-long section of Reagan’s colon removed in Saturday’s surgery. Results of the tests are scheduled to be released today, and the senior White House aide who spoke with reporters on the condition that he not be identified noted that doctors have said that in “about half the cases with a tumor this size there are malignant cells.”

“If such is the case with Reagan’s growth,” he said, “that won’t surprise us.”

But the official described the President as “an upbeat guy” and said: “I don’t think that will slow him down or cause him undue anxiety.”

Speakes, when asked if Reagan was worried about the possibility of cancer being found, also used the word “upbeat” and said: “The President is pretty much of an optimist . . . . He can handle anything that comes down the pike.”

Reagan ‘Fully Briefed’

He said Reagan “has been fully briefed on his surgery and is fully aware of the pending pathological report.” Speakes referred to doctors’ statements Saturday that chances were good that any malignancy in the polyp or adjacent tissue would have been removed by the surgery.

The surgeons visually examined Reagan’s liver and other abdominal organs and found no signs of disease, Speakes said. “In fact,” he added, “the doctor said it was the internal workings of a 40-year-old--they were really, really surprised about how well the President looked . . . on the inside.”

Dr. John Potter, a cancer surgeon at Georgetown University Hospital, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday that, if cancer cells had spread to the most superficial level of the colon, “the cure rate is well over 90%.” If cancer cells penetrate more deeply, he said, “the prognosis starts to slide off a little bit, and it goes down to about 50% if it does reach the outer layer on the colon.”

Brother’s Surgery Cited

Reagan’s age “is the peak age incidence for colon cancer,” Dr. James Lewis, a Georgetown gastroenterologist, said on the same television program. And he said the fact that Reagan’s 76-year-old brother, Neil, recently underwent surgery for colon cancer “probably doubles or triples the President’s risk of having colon cancer during his lifetime.”

The day after the surgery, Speakes said Reagan was “on the job, to some extent.” He met with his chief of staff, Donald T. Regan, receiving a national security briefing and discussing budget issues.

“The President expressed his strong desire to see action on the federal budget this week,” Speakes said, quoting him as adding: “ ‘I want to emphasize this week.’ ” House and Senate conferees have been deadlocked on a budget package to reduce the federal deficit.

First Lady Nancy Reagan visited her husband twice, and the White House released a photograph of the President giving her a kiss from his bed. Speakes said the President also walked briefly around his room and spent 45 minutes sitting in a chair reading a novel by Louis L’Amour, described as one of Reagan’s favorite authors.

Fever Slightly Elevated

Reagan is receiving antibiotics, and Speakes said there were no signs of infection. His “fever may be slightly elevated, but is well under 100,” Speakes reported at a Sunday evening briefing. “It is certainly normal in a postoperative period to have an elevated temperature.”

Episodes of fever, as a result of infection, troubled Reagan for several days after he was shot in an assassination attempt on March 30, 1981.

On Saturday, before undergoing surgery, Reagan took the unprecedented step of transferring his powers to Vice President George Bush in action paralleling provisions of the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, although the documents he signed did not explicitly invoke the amendment.

Bush Knew of Action

Bush was not formally informed of the President’s action until 12 minutes after Reagan was administered anesthesia, but Speakes said the vice president had been told earlier of Reagan’s plans and “knew what was coming down the pike.”

There was “no 12-minute period . . . no period, period” when Bush was not fully aware that he had control of the government while Reagan was under anesthesia, Speakes said.

About eight hours after his surgery began, Reagan signed documents reclaiming his authority as President. Regan and White House counsel Fred Fielding first asked the President to read the documents to determine whether he was alert.

‘He Was Damn Alert’

“I tried to test him to see, was he alert, from my layman’s point of view. I asked him to read the letter he was about to sign,” Regan said. “And by listening to him and by some of his statements and jokes, I knew he was damn alert and knew exactly what was going on.”

The chief of staff said that when he offered to come back with the letter in an hour, the President responded: “Hell no! Then I wouldn’t sign the letter. Gimme that.”