MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey underwent a scheduled outpatient procedure on Friday as she gets set for specialized radiation treatment for cancer, her office said.
Ivey announced Thursday that doctors had discovered a malignant spot on her lung. She described the cancer as having been caught early and said it would not interfere in her ability to fulfill her duties as governor. She went to the University of Alabama at Birmingham to have the initial procedure done.
“The governor’s outpatient procedure today at UAB went well and as planned. She is back in Montgomery and looks forward to returning to her regular schedule next week,” Ivey Press Secretary Gina Maiola wrote in a statement.
The governor’s office has not disclosed the specific type of cancer she was diagnosed as having. The office said the outpatient procedure will enable her to undergo a series of radiation treatments.
In this March 12, 2019 file photo Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey gives a thumbs up as she arrives to sign the gas tax bill in the state capitol building in Montgomery, Ala. (Mickey Welsh/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP, file)The 74-year-old Republican governor said the spot was discovered in a routine exam and was later confirmed to be what she called a tiny, isolated malignancy.