Sen. Chris Dodd Will Undergo Surgery for Prostate Cancer

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) announced at a Connecticut press conference Friday that he was diagnosed six weeks ago with early-stage prostate cancer and that he will undergo surgery to remove his prostate. Dodd will be treated at New York's Memorial Sloan Kettering and will have surgery shortly after the Senate recesses next week. Dodd appeared relaxed and upbeat as he spoke to reporters at his Hartford, Conn., office, sitting next to his wife, Jackie Clegg Dodd. He explained that an annual physical in June revealed an elevated PSA level, which led to a biopsy confirming prostate cancer. "I feel fine. I'm going to be fine. We caught this early," he said.

The senator said he chose not to disclose his condition earlier because he had not decided on a course of treatment and because he did not want to be an "exhibit" for the media as he presided over Senate negotiations on the health care reform bill. "I didn't think I should be the issue. It isn't about me," he said.

He also used the press conference to push for health care reform, saying he is lucky to have health care insurance, but that "today 100 people in Connecticut will lose health care coverage." He acknowledged the trouble the legislation has encountered, but said, "I'm confident we'll get it back on track again."

Speaking of his contested 2010 re-election bid, Dodd said, "I am running for re-election. I'll be a little leaner and a little meaner, and I'll be running without a prostate."

Several of Dodd's colleagues in the Senate are undergoing treatment for cancer or are cancer survivors. In addition to Sen. Ted Kennedy's fight against brain cancer, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has been diagnosed four times with melanoma; Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) has twice undergone treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma; and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) recovered from prostate cancer in 2004.