RALEIGH — Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) will return to North Carolina to undergo surgery related to a prostate cancer diagnosis during the week following Easter Sunday.
“I am blessed that my cancer was detected relatively early, and I can’t emphasize enough how important routine screenings are, regardless of how healthy you think you are. I had no symptoms and would have never imagined I had cancer,” the 60-year-old Tillis said in a statement on Twitter.
Tillis continued, “My prognosis is good because I went to my annual physical and received a PSA test, which led to a biopsy and eventually my diagnosis. Early detection can truly save lives.”
He also indicated that he is “in the hands of outstanding medical professionals” and is expected to make a full recovery.
Approximately 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society. While prostate cancer is the second leading cause of death among men, behind lung cancer, the vast majority survive following their diagnosis. About 1 in 41 men (2.4%) diagnosed with the disease die from it, while more than 3.1 million men in the United States who have had the disease are alive today.
