In 1991, I was working for Senator Dole in the U.S. Capitol.
That year, Senator Dole had prostate cancer and a successful surgery. He became an advocate for early detection and the PSA test, doing countless public service announcements to raise awareness about this disease – 98% curable if caught early.
What many people don’t know is the outpouring of support that Senator Dole showed to others with prostate cancer. One of them was my father, Frank Biviano.
It was Christmas 1991 and I remember going home to Cortland, New York, telling my parents how well Senator Dole was doing after his surgery. At the kitchen table at 24 Mildred Avenue, my father decided it was time to let me know of his prostate cancer diagnosis. Of course, I was devastated.
The U.S. Capitol suite in S-230, right off the Rotunda, had several large meeting rooms, Senator Dole’s office as Senate Majority Leader, and adjoining staff offices.
Senator Dole came through the staff office several times a day to check in to see what deliverables we had. The staff communicated with Senator Dole on any new item by memorandum, including checkboxes on action items. My memorandum that day was very simple. My Dad has prostate cancer. He will be going in for surgery in a few weeks and I would need a few days off to help my Mom.
On this day, Senator Dole had my memo in hand.
“You didn’t include Frank’s phone number. I’d like to give him a call.”
— U.S. Senator Bob Dole
He did call my Dad. In the end, he would call more than 400 men across the United States to offer words of encouragement and continue to build awareness, even at the 1996 RNC Convention when he was the nominee for President of the United States.
I was in the Capitol Office on the day of my father’s surgery. I planned to leave town a few days later to help my Mom, once Dad came home. Senator Dole came by my desk several times to see if my Dad was out of surgery.
Later that day, he had a meeting with U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato (R-NY). He told Senator D’Amato that my Dad had prostate cancer surgery and thought he should call him.
Senator D’Amato called me to get my father’s information.
“Judy, how’s your Poppy? Bob told me that I should call him since he’s my constituent – a fellow New Yorker!”
— U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato (R-NY)
It’s not too often that two U.S. Senators call Cortland Memorial Hospital – but it happened. Senator Dole once again called my Dad to check in as did Senator D’Amato.
That day, Frank Biviano became a celebrity at Cortland Memorial Hospital.
Several years later, in 1997, Senator Dole met my son, Michael. There was a reception honoring a memorial scholarship at Emerson College in the name of John Diamantakiou. John was a dear friend who replaced me in Senator Dole’s office when I moved over to the Republican National Committee in 1992. John passed away suddenly on December 22, 1992, at age 26 from cardiomyopathy.
That evening, Senator Dole was attending the reception in John’s honor. I had planned to go, but my 3-month-old son, Michael, was a little colicky and I was trying to calm him down.
The phone rang and it was Senator Dole’s personal assistant. Senator Dole was waiting for me at the reception and wanted to meet the new baby. My husband, Tim and I whisked our youngster into the car and got there within 30 minutes.
Senator Dole took a photo with us and reached into the lapel of his jacket, handing me a folded $100 bill.
“Here’s a little something for Michael’s scholarship fund.”
— U.S. Senator Bob Dole
Throughout the years, there are countless stories of acts of kindness towards my family, including calls when my father passed away in 2001 from complications from a rare form of leukemia and a visit with Senator Dole just after my Mom passed away in 2011 from pancreatic cancer.
Over the years, I’ve encountered more and more people with stories like this about Senator Dole’s compassion and kindness. Whether you were visiting Washington, D.C. from Kansas or an old friend – Senator Dole would do his best to help.
Being “A Great American” goes beyond his visible wounds from WWII, the campaigns for President, consequential bipartisan leadership bringing the country together as U.S. Senator, and his work helping people with disabilities. The true legacy of Bob Dole is all these things, but foremost, it is compassion.
Judy Biviano Lloyd worked on two presidential campaigns and in the U.S. Capitol for U.S. Senator Bob Dole and served as a 2015 Fellow at the Dole Institute of Politics, University of Kanas. She and Senator Dole stayed in touch for 34 years.