WASHINGTON (AP) – Sen. Angus King of Maine said Monday he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and will undergo surgery on Friday.
The 71-year-old independent says the cancer was discovered early, during a routine annual checkup. It has not spread and he says he expects to make a full recovery.
King says Maine residents should expect to see him back on the Senate floor within weeks and back on the campaign trail when he runs for re-election to a second term in 2018.
The only difference, he said in a statement, is that “my poor little prostate won’t be along for the ride.”
King also disclosed Monday that as a young man 40 years ago he was successfully treated for malignant melanoma. He says that outbreak and the prostate cancer are unrelated.