Senator Amy Klobuchar revealed Thursday that she’s a breast cancer survivor.
In a Medium post, the 61-year old said she was diagnosed with Stage 1A breast cancer in February. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic performed a lumpectomy. In May, she completed a course of radiation treatment.
“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, a Democrat from Minnesota, wrote.
The 2020 presidential candidate expressed gratitude to the doctors and nurses who treated her, and said the support of her family and friends allowed her to continue her work in the Senate.
Klobuchar also underscored the importance of regular medical screenings:
I also want to call attention to the fact that many people have been delaying physicals and routine examinations because of the pandemic. I know that because I delayed mine. In fact, more than one in three adults reported delaying or forgoing health care because of coronavirus-related concerns. Studies have found that thousands of people who missed their mammogram due to the pandemic may be living with undetected breast cancer. Over and over, doctors are seeing patients who are being treated for more serious conditions that could have been caught earlier.
She continued, “I hope my experience is a reminder for everyone of the value of routine health checkups, exams, and follow-through.”
According to the American Cancer Society, “The average risk of a woman in the United States developing breast cancer sometime in her life is about 13%. This means there is a 1 in 8 chance she will develop breast cancer.”
The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends that women who are 50 to 74 years old and are at average risk for breast cancer get a mammogram every two years.
