Sen. Amy Klobuchar Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis
By Jason Hall
September 9, 2021
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), a former 2020 presidential candidate and the current chair of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, revealed she was diagnosed with and received successful treatment for breast cancer earlier this year.
Sen. Klobuchar, 61, provided a health update in an official statement shared to Medium.com Thursday (September 9) morning, revealing that doctors at the Mayo Clinic discovered small white spots called calcifications during a routine mammogram and a biopsy confirmed she had "stage 1A breast cancer" in February.
"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," Klobuchar wrote. "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."
"Of course this has been scary at times, since cancer is the word all of us fear, but at this point my doctors believe that my chances of developing cancer again are no greater than the average person."
Klobuchar said that, like many others, her routine examinations were delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Studies have found that thousands of people who missed their mammogram due to the pandemic may be living with undetected breast cancer,” Klobuchar wrote, adding that she hopes her situation “is a reminder for everyone of the value of routine health checkups, exams, and follow-through.”
Klobuchar, initially elected in 2006 as Minnesota's first female U.S. senator, announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in February 2019, before suspending her campaign and endorsing eventual President Joe Biden in March 2020.
Health officials recommend all women between the ages of 50 and 74 undergo mammograms every two years, while those between ages 40 and 49 should discuss when and how frequently to get exams, NBC News reports.