OLYMPIA — Secretary of State Sam Reed announced Wednesday he has been diagnosed with kidney cancer and will undergo surgery to remove the organ next week in Seattle.
Reed, 69, is scheduled for surgery Monday morning at Virginia Mason Medical Center. He is expected to be hospitalized for a couple of days followed by up to two weeks of recuperation at home.
Doctors told Reed last Thursday they found a cancerous tumor in his left kidney during tests for unrelated abdominal pains that subsequently cleared up, said his spokesman David Ammons.
A scan showed the cancer, which is malignant, is confined to the one kidney and had not spread to other organs, Ammons said
According to information released by Reed’s office, surgeons will remove the kidney laparoscopically, a minimally invasive procedure involving small incisions. Radiation and chemotherapy will not be required.
“The cancer is absolutely curable, and I really lucked out in terms of early detection,” Reed said in a prepared statement. “Thanks to early detection and diagnosis, my doctors say my prognosis for successful surgery and recovery is excellent.”
Reed told family and close friends of the diagnosis over the weekend and waited to announce it publicly until after the surgery had been scheduled.
He won re-election to a third term in 2008 and is the senior Republican statewide elected official.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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