New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy revealed he has a tumor on his left kidney and will undergo a procedure to remove it next month.
“Friends – I’ve got a tumor on my left kidney and will undergo a partial nephrectomy in early March to remove it,” he tweeted Saturday night. “The prognosis is very good and I’m profoundly grateful to my doctors for detecting the tumor early.”
Friends – I’ve got a tumor on my left kidney and will undergo a partial nephrectomy in early March to remove it. The prognosis is very good and I’m profoundly grateful to my doctors for detecting the tumor early.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) February 23, 2020
He further told NJ Advance Media that there is a 90% chance the tumor is cancerous but that his doctors caught it early on and are confident that will be able to remove it. Therefore, he does not anticipate undergoing radiation or chemotherapy.
“The expectation is that overwhelmingly, assuming nothing happens on the operating table or you don’t get an infection or something, you’re back on your feet and back in the game without any impairment going forward,” Murphy said. “It’s not something you look forward to doing, but we feel like we’re in really good hands.”
The Democrat is expected to run for reelection this year as he rounds out his third term. He is additionally leading efforts to elect Democratic governors in 2020 in his position as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.
Murphy, 62, who pointed out that 50,000 residents in his state will be diagnosed with cancer this year, is set to deliver an address on the New Jersey budget on Tuesday and said a “big chunk” of his speech will focus on making healthcare affordable.
“Health care is a right, not a privilege for a select few, and skyrocketing medical costs are a national emergency,” he wrote on Twitter. “If there’s anything my diagnosis reminds me of, it’s that preventative services are lifesaving, and we need to continue fighting for affordable health care for all.”
