by Andrew Trunsky
Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar revealed Thursday that she was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer earlier this year and successfully underwent radiation therapy.
“In May, I completed a course of radiation treatment, and after additional follow-up visits, it was determined in August that the treatment went well,” she wrote in a Medium post. “Of course this has been scary at times, since cancer is the word all of us fear, but at this point my doctors believe that my chances of developing cancer again are no greater than the average person.”
Klobuchar said that she had stage 1A breast cancer, meaning that the tumor is no larger than two centimeters and has not spread to the lymph nodes.
“I want to thank the incredible doctors and nurses I had the privilege to work with, my friends and loving family — including my husband John and daughter Abigail — for their support during the surgery and radiation, which also coincided with my dad’s illness and death,” she added.
Klobuchar’s father, a well-known journalist in Minnesota, died in May after battling Alzheimer’s Disease.
Klobuchar added that she wanted to bring “attention to the fact that many people have been delaying physicals and routine examinations because of the pandemic.”
“I know that because I delayed mine,” she said. “In fact, more than one in three adults reported delaying or forgoing health care because of coronavirus-related concerns.”
“I hope my experience is a reminder for everyone of the value of routine health checkups, exams, and follow-through,” she added. “I am so fortunate to have caught the cancer at an early enough stage and to not need chemotherapy or other extensive treatments, which unfortunately is not the case for so many others.”
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Andrew Trunsky is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Amy Klobuchar” by Gage Skidmore CC BY-SA 2.0.
