Ron Wyden: I Have Cancer, Will Undergo Surgery

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has announced that he is suffering from prostate cancer. In a statement, the senator said that he was diagnosed with the disease in late November and is scheduled to have surgery on December 20.

Wyden, who is 61, says that he expects a "full and speedy recovery," but it is possible that he will miss crucial Senate votes, including ratification of the START treaty and an attempt to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Scroll down for full statement. UPDATE: Click here for the latest.

"After my annual physical in late November, I was diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer. After reviewing all the options with multiple physicians, I decided to take a proactive approach and have surgery, which will be performed December 20 at Johns Hopkins Hospital by Dr. Alan Partin.

Thanks to routine screening, this was diagnosed very early and I expect a full and speedy recovery.

I scheduled the surgery for the Monday before Christmas anticipating that the Senate would have recessed by that time and that there would be no disruption to my work in Oregon or Washington.

However, it now appears that I will be missing votes tomorrow and possibly next week while I prepare and undergo this procedure. I expect to be back to work full-time when the Senate reconvenes in January.

If anything is taken away from my experience, I hope it is the importance of getting routine physicals. One in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetimes. Early detection is critical to catching this disease when treatment is most effective."

For more information on prostate cancer visit: http://www.knowyourstats.org/Resources/Resources.html"

Comments

[Aripottah]

11:18 AM on 12/19/2010

Wish you well as you recover, Senator. Thank you for all your good work.

[Jen White JLW]

01:08 PM on 12/17/2010

I hope everything goes well for you Senator and that you have good recovery. I appreciate all of your hard work in the Senate doing good things for Oregon and the rest of the country. It also speaks to your character that you waited for the expected holiday recess to do this to reduce impact to your work when you really could have done it at any time. Happy holidays to you and your family.

[SimonOne]

12:56 AM on 12/17/2010

Ron is a great Congressman and I wish him a speedy and full recovery.

[iMissMollyIvins]

12:31 AM on 12/17/2010

My thoughts and prayers go out to Sen. Wyden in hopes he does have a full & speedy recovery.

[Ferris J Anderson]

09:58 PM on 12/16/2010

Why isn't there some kind of absentee type voting for congress? Are you kidding me they can't get something like that together?

[ebanks84]

06:48 PM on 12/16/2010

I will pray for this senator and may the Creator bless and keep him safe. He will be in the best of hands at Johns Hopkins Hospital as well. May your family close tight around you and keep you safe with their love.

[Floridaval]

06:32 PM on 12/16/2010

Wishing you a speedy and full recovery from your surgery, and Merry Christmas and an Amazing New Year.

[Black Misfit]

06:31 PM on 12/16/2010

Wish him the best and a speedy recovery. We need him on the senate floor.

[sviolette]

06:31 PM on 12/16/2010

Good luck with your surgery Senator Wyden. You're votes will be missed.

From a prostate cancer survivor.

[glomtt]

06:29 PM on 12/16/2010

God Bless You Senator Wyden! I pray that you get well soon!

[purplet]

06:28 PM on 12/16/2010

Get well soon- We appreciate all you have done - you are in our thoughts-

[heartsmindsvision]

06:28 PM on 12/16/2010

I put a comment out on this post and it was scratched. And , my prays are with the senator for a fast recovery. With that said leave me explain myself. First of all I really get disturbed when people are ignorant of the facts and reality. Their are people out there that are very very sick. a tremendous amount of them are poor, working poor and middle class. They can not afford medical insurance . if they can afford medical insurance it is not enough to cover very grave illness or their insurance provider dropped them. So what happens to them, you answer this question. This is all I was trying to get across. I am only stating a fact. Thank You.

[mdcolli]

09:24 PM on 12/16/2010

Fair enough and sad but true.....
We should have a single payer system....No middle man getting rich from very ill people...

No Brewer death panels...

[iMissMollyIvins]

12:34 AM on 12/17/2010

Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-In.) has one of those Death Panels too. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/08/seth-petreikis-baby-with-_n_793950.html

[JDCyran]

06:27 PM on 12/16/2010

Ron Wyden, in my opinion, has been one of the best Senators this country has had, and I'm proud to have voted for him when he first ran for Senate and every time thereafter. I wish you a speedy recovery, Senator Wyden.

[sviolette]

06:27 PM on 12/16/2010

I ahd the same surgery 6 years ago. It is not as easy as he seems to think. I would say at least two weeks of getting used to your life after the surgery. 1 week to 10 days with a catheter and a bag strapped to your leg and a couple more of extreme incontinence. I hope he is getting the robot surgery. It is usually a little better.

But as far as everyone getting tested for this type of cancer: it will never happen as long as there are 50 million people without healthcare insurance. I wonder how many of them are walking around with prostate or breast cancer because they can't afford the tests?

[teschman]

07:58 AM on 12/17/2010

6 years ago they weren't doing robotic assisted surgery called DaVinci. I had that surgery 3 years ago. I was out of the hospital they next day, had a catheter for about 8 days, then used products of varying degrees for incontinence for about 6 months. I was back to work at my desk 10 days after my surgery. I took no pain medication after the 3rd day. My urologist gave me 6 months to make a decision on which procedure I wanted to have done. Maybe his Gleason score was weighted toward the more agressive form of this disease. Good luck Senator.

[llmitchellb]

06:25 PM on 12/16/2010

Postpone the surgery! It's early stage. Many with prostate cancer don't have surgery. Wait 3 weeks!