Tony Snow returns to work after cancer

updated 9:27 a.m. ET April 30, 2007

WASHINGTON - White House press secretary Tony Snow was back on the job Monday, five weeks after doctors discovered a recurrence of his cancer. He said he would soon undergo chemotherapy "just to make sure we've got the thing knocked out."

Snow, 51, has been on medical leave since undergoing exploratory surgery last month, when doctors discovered that a growth in his abdominal area was cancerous and had metastasized, or spread, to the liver.

Snow started typically early, appearing Monday on the North Lawn of the White House for a series of morning television network news shows, including an interview on "Fox and Friends," with his former Fox network colleagues.

"I've recovered from the surgery, more or less," Snow said in a CNN interview. "I'll start doing chemo on Friday. We'll do it every other week for four months."

Once a month, Snow said, "We'll do a maintenance chemo just to make sure we've got the thing knocked out and put in remission."

Snow had his colon removed in 2005 and underwent six months of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with colon cancer.

Over the weekend, Snow spoke to students and alumni at Davidson College, from which he graduated in 1977. During an impromptu question-and-answer session there, Snow said he has become closer to God and his family because of the cancer, The Charlotte Observer reported.

"I am actually enjoying everything more than I ever have," Snow said, according to the newspaper. "God hasn't promised us tomorrow, but he has promised us eternity."

Snow is married with three children, 10, 11 and 14.

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