Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI) announced that he had been diagnosed with “a serious but curable form of cancer” after testing with his doctors.
Kildee, a co-chair of the Democrats’ Steering and Policy Committee, said that after going through testing with his doctors, he found “a very small tumor” in one of his tonsils and was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma.
The congressman explained that he would undergo surgery to remove the cancer “in a few weeks” and noted that “the prognosis after surgery and treatment is excellent.”
“My doctors have advised me it will take a few weeks to recover after the surgery. I’m eager to have this chapter behind me and get back to work. But in the meantime, I’ll be away from the office for a period of time,” Kildee said, explaining that in his absence, his congressional office will remain open to help his constituents.
“I am going to get through this. I’m going to beat cancer,” the congressman continued. “I appreciate the love of my family and wife, Jennifer, as well as the help of my extraordinary staff. And to my constituents and my colleagues in Congress, thank you for your continued support.”
The five-term congressman has been one of the more vulnerable members in every election and plays an essential part on the House Democrats’ Steering and Policy Committee. Additionally, with a narrow Republican majority in the House, Kildee will be unable to vote as he recovers from his surgery since there is no more proxy voting in place.
In recent months, there have been several other House Democrats diagnosed with cancer.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, announced in December that he had been diagnosed with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma and would go through chemotherapy, and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) announced her was recovering from undergoing cancer surgery.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.