August 11, 2009 7:07 PM

Dodd Undergoes Surgery for Prostate Cancer

(AP)  Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd underwent surgery for prostate cancer on Tuesday and was recuperating at a New York hospital.

Dr. Peter Scardino of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center said the surgery was successful and Dodd was resting comfortably.

"It is anticipated that he will be able to return to full activity within a few weeks," Scardino said in a statement released by Dodd's office.

Dodd, 65, is expected to remain at the hospital for a few days before returning home to Connecticut.

The five-term Democrat announced last month that he had been diagnosed with an early, treatable stage of cancer. He expects to return to a full Senate schedule later this month after a few weeks of rest.

Dodd has said that the cancer will not affect his plans to seek a sixth term next year. He is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and is playing a leading role as Congress seeks to overhaul the nation's health care system.

He faces his toughest re-election fight in nearly 30 years in the Senate. Recent polls showed him trailing former GOP Rep. Rob Simmons.

The Senate ethics panel recently cleared Dodd of breaking rules by getting mortgages through a VIP program, but it scolded him for not being more careful to avoid the appearance of sweetheart deals from Countrywide Financial Corp. Dodd got his mortgages through a VIP program for those designated as "friends" of then-Countrywide chief executive Angelo Mozilo.

Despite the ethics panel finding, Dodd's 2010 re-election bid has been hurt by the mortgage scandal. He has admitted he mishandled the allegations by waiting for several months before addressing them in detail.

Prostate cancer is the most common form of the disease in men in the United States, affecting about 6.4 out of every 100 men in Dodd's age group, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Add a Comment
by xlib August 12, 2009 7:13 AM EDT
I hear he went to Cuba because health care here is so awful. I think michael moore took him by boat.
Reply to this comment
by actornaught August 12, 2009 12:13 PM EDT
How do the phrases you post relate to one another? Or did the neighbor's dog tell you to string them together?
by actornaught August 11, 2009 9:19 PM EDT
No less a publication than the Wall Street Journal long ago debunked the lie that Dodd added those bonuses to the stimulus bill. He originally wrote that they should NOT get bounuses, but a bipartisan push succeeded in getting him to remove that part, to avoid possible legal problems. However much this was a mistake, i've personally seen Hannity repeat the LIE version recently. Not even a half truth, but an out&out lie that he wanted to extend those bonuses.

I hope he has a successful recovery.
Reply to this comment
by xlib August 12, 2009 7:16 AM EDT
There hasn't been a "bi-partisan" push on anything for a long, long time. The dems have had the con.
So, you say he was forced to remove the bonuses? Is that right? Funny how the intelligent, bright, really smart dems keep getting duped by the awful Republicans. How does that happen again.
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