Sen. Reid undergoes pancreas procedure
LAS VEGAS — Former Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was recovering after undergoing surgery yesterday at Johns Hopkins Cancer Center in Baltimore to remove a cancerous tumor from his pancreas.
Reid, 78, will undergo chemotherapy, according to a statement released yesterday by his family.
“His doctors caught the problem early during a routine screening and his surgeons are confident that the surgery was a success and that the prognosis for his recovery is good,” the statement said.
The former Senate Democratic leader declined to seek reelection in 2016 after more than three decades in Congress. A 2015 accident left him blind in one eye.
A former boxer who grew up poor in the small town of Searchlight, Nev., Reid rose to the one of the most powerful positions in American politics as Nevada’s longestserving senator.
He helped propel the passage of former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law and blocked the development of a nuclear waste dump in Nevada. He was also a champion of his home state’s gaming and tourism industry and built up a well-organized Democratic machine in Nevada.
Well-wishers from both parties — including some former Republican opponents in Congress — released statements of support for Reid yesterday.
Republican Sen. John McCain tweeted, “From one cantankerous senator to another, sending my prayers & best wishes to @SenatorReid as he recovers from a successful surgery.”