HONOLULU (AP) - The next step in Sen. Mazie Hirono’s battle with stage four kidney cancer is to undergo surgery to remove part of a rib where a second tumor has been found.
Hirono had one of her kidneys removed last month after being diagnosed, KITV-TV reported (https://bit.ly/2rZ7Pgb ). Her cancer was found during a routine physical on an X-ray. She went in for the physical in preparation for eye surgery.
The last time this 69-year-old senator from Hawaii was in the hospital was 52 years ago. Hirono said looking back, she had signs that something wasn’t right in her abdomen.
“For a while, I just felt this weird kind of a tightness sensation, a bit of pain,” she said from Washington. But now, Hirono is just happy the exam caught her cancer.
Her doctor is Dr. Michael Atkins at Georgetown University Medical Center.
Hirono will undergo surgery to remove part of her rib next week and will be hospitalized for a day or two. Hirono won’t be able to come home to Hawaii for a while, but said she’ll be back to work as soon as possible.
Hirono’s top priorities right now are immigration reform and health care.
“I just thought that major health issues happen to other people, but this really taught me one thing: it can happen to any one of us,” she said.
Hirono expects to make a full recovery and said she will run for re-election.
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