A Republican U.S. senator revealed some unfortunate health news this week.
According to a statement, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and will begin treatment soon.
“In the hands of outstanding medical professionals”
“Next week, I will have surgery in North Carolina to treat prostate cancer,” he tweeted on Monday. “I am in the hands of outstanding medical professionals and expect to make a full recovery.”
Tillis maintained a positive outlook, expressing gratitude that his “cancer was detected relatively early” and stressing “how important routine screenings are, regardless of how healthy you think you are.”
He went on to clarify that he “had no symptoms and would never have imagined” that he was ill before his diagnosis.
“My prognosis is good because I went to my annual physical and received a PSA test, which led to a biopsy and eventually my diagnosis,” Tillis explained. “Early detection can truly save lives.”
His admonition is backed up by data from the American Cancer Society showing that prostate cancer “is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men, behind only lung cancer.”
“More than 3.1 million men in the United States”
On average, the disease will kill about one in every 41 men, though most who are diagnosed early survive the ordeal.
“In fact, more than 3.1 million men in the United States who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point are still alive today,” the ACA noted.
Tillis, who is currently serving his second term in the upper chamber, was first elected in 2014 when he defeated Democratic Sen. Kay Kagan. He previously served in the state legislature.
Though generally popular within the GOP, he publicly clashed with then-President Donald Trump in 2019 over the use of a national emergency declaration to divert funds from the Department of Defense toward the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. At the time, Tillis wrote in an opinion piece for the Washington Post that he “cannot justify providing the executive with more ways to bypass Congress.”
Just a week later, however, the senator reversed his stance on the issue. Tillis experienced a health scare last year when he tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a White House event.
The post GOP Sen. Tillis announces upcoming surgery for prostate cancer, expects ‘full recovery’ first appeared on Conservative Institute.
No comments: