HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd said Friday that he has been diagnosed with an early stage of prostate cancer and will have surgery this month, but the prognosis is good.
Dodd said evidence of possible cancer was detected in June during his annual physical and later confirmed by a biopsy. He said he plans to have surgery shortly after Congress adjourns next week and is “very confident we’re going to come out of this well.”
Dodd, with wife Jackie Clegg Dodd by his side, said he feels fine and expects to return to a full schedule at the end of August.
“I’m running for re-election. I’ll be a little leaner, a little meaner, but I’m running,” Dodd told reporters, friends and supporters at his Hartford office.
The 65-year-old Democrat is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and is playing a lead role in Congress’ attempt to overhaul the nation’s health care system.
Dr. William K. Kelly, who heads the prostate and urologic cancers program at the Yale Cancer Center, said the prostate- removal surgery that Dodd is seeking shows the cancer is localized and has not spread.
“He should do very well,” Kelly said.
