Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Thursday that she underwent treatment earlier this year for early-stage breast cancer and that the treatment “went well.”
The Minnesota Democrat shared her Stage 1A breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in a statement posted on Medium.
She said she was diagnosed after doctors at the Mayo Clinic found calcifications in February during a routine mammogram and following a subsequent biopsy at the Piper Breast Center in Minneapolis.
I wanted to share an update about my health. https://t.co/0yGWuw4OKV
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) September 9, 2021
“After a number of other tests, I returned to Mayo and had a lumpectomy on the right breast which involved the removal of the cancer,” she said. “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 called the experience “scary at times” but added that “at this point my doctors believe that my chances of developing cancer again are no greater than the average person.”
She thanked her doctors and nurses for their work and her family for their support while also urging people not to avoid routine medical procedures because of the pandemic. A survey released last week by the Prevent Cancer Foundation found that worries over the coronavirus pandemic had led many women to skip or delay routine cancer screenings.
“It’s easy to put off health screenings, just like I did,” Klobuchar said Thursday. “But I hope my experience is a reminder for everyone of the value of routine health checkups, exams, and follow-through. 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.”
Klobuchar, 61, ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 but exited the race before the Democratic National Convention. She was elected to represent Minnesota in the U.S. Senate in 2006 and has been reelected twice since. She serves as the chair of the Senate Rules Committee.
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