Colin Powell, Battling Cancer: 'Don't Feel Sorry for Me'

Bob Woodward recalls his last interview with Powell
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 19, 2021 12:01 AM CDT
Powell, Battling Cancer and Parkinson's: 'Don't Feel Sorry for Me'
In this Nov. 30, 2006 file photo, former Secretary of State Colin Powell looks on during a ceremony for the Alexis de Tocqueville prize, a French literary award, in Tocqueville, east of Cherbourg, western France.   (AP Photo/Vincent Michel)

Three months before his death Monday from COVID-19 complications, Colin Powell talked to Bob Woodward for the last time. The journalist had interviewed him about 50 times since 1989, he writes in the Washington Post, in a piece recounting their last talk. Powell, who was battling cancer and other health issues, told Woodward he often visited Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. "I have to get all kinds of exams and I’m a former chairman, so they don’t want to lose me, so they make me come there all the time," he said. "I’ve got multiple myeloma cancer, and I’ve got Parkinson’s disease. But otherwise I’m fine." And, he insisted, "Don’t feel sorry for me, for God’s sakes! I’m [84] years old. I haven’t lost a day of life fighting these two diseases. I’m in good shape.” Read the full piece here; Powell also discussed the Jan. 6 breach of the US Capitol, which he called "awful." More to read as outlets remember Powell:

  • The Guardian takes a look at Powell's life in pictures.
  • NPR considers the two "very different" Iraq wars with which Powell is closely associated.
  • The second one is a "stain" on his record; the Washington Post remembers his admission that he regretted it.
  • CNN examines Powell's decades-long friendship with Joe Biden.
  • The Washingtonian takes a walk on the lighter side, pondering why Powell, a "car guy," loved the PT Cruiser.
(Powell's health issues made him more vulnerable to COVID.)

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