Dodd Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer, Expected Back By Sept.
Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., has been diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer, a Connecticut Democratic Party spokeswoman told CQ Politics. Dodd has been leading the Senate health committee in the absence of its chairman, Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., who is fighting brain cancer. That committee had earlier completed a health reform proposal that will have to be merged with another now being shaped by the Senate Finance Committee.
Dodd's cancer was caught at a very early stage, the spokeswoman said. She characterized his expected treatment as "entirely routine," adding that he would "be down only for a few weeks." He "is expected to be back to work when the Senate returns in September," CQ Politics reports.
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Penn., another member of the health panel said "he did not anticipate that Dodd's diagnosis would delay progress on the Senate version of a health care overhaul," CQ politics reports. Casey said, "I'm sure he'll be fine, and he'll be able to continue the pace that he's been at for a lot of months now" (Cadei, 7/31).