WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Thom Tillis announced Monday that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and he’ll undergo surgery in North Carolina this week to treat it.
The Republican lawmaker said in a statement that his cancer was detected “relatively early” and his “prognosis is good.”
Tillis, 60, says his doctors caught the cancer during his annual physical, during which he received a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, which led to a biopsy and eventually his diagnosis.
In his statement, Tillis emphasized the importance of routine screenings, regardless of how healthy you think you are.
“Early detection can truly save lives,” he wrote.
Tillis recently won re-election in North Carolina, defeating his Democratic opponent, Cal Cunningham, in the November election.
