Bob Dole, the 97-year-old former Republican senator and 1996 presidential candidate, announced on Thursday that he is fighting lung cancer.
“I was recently diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. My first treatment starts on Monday, ” Dole said on Twitter
“While I certainly have some hurdles ahead, I also know that I am joining millions of Americans who face significant health challenges themselves,” he added.
Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the leader of the GOP for the last 11 years of his tenure.
He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1961 to 1969.
In the early 1980s, Dole chaired the Senate Finance Committee, which helps guide U.S. tax, trade, and health policies.
He was also the Republican presidential candidate in the 1996 election, which he clearly lost to President Bill Clinton, who won 49.2 percent of the vote against Dole’s 40.7 percent.
Dole, who was the vice-presidential candidate in the 1976 elections, sustained serious injuries in Italy during World War II that resulted in a long hospitalization.
With pole wires