Norm Coleman To Undergo Surgery For Cancer Mid-July

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Norm Coleman says he is going to give up a quarter of his lungs later this month after undergoing surgery in his battle against lung cancer.

In 2015, Coleman revealed he had throat cancer. Coleman said the cancer in his tonsil was surgically removed, along with 39 lymph nodes. For two years after treatment, he had clean PET scans that showed he was cancer-free.

Last year, however, he said the "cancer has reasserted itself in my lungs."

In an interview with WCCO's Frank Vascellaro, the former Senator Coleman encouraged people to look into the HPV vaccine. He waited months to see a doctor about a dry patch in his throat, and says perhaps if he caught it earlier, it wouldn't have progressed so far.

On Tuesday, Coleman said that he is scheduled to undergo surgery July 15, a "video-assisted thoracoscopic left lower lobectomy" that Coleman says will ultimately "deprive me of about 15-20% of my lung capacity."

He went on to joke that it would mean if he were to run a marathon in the future, he would start getting winded at mile 20.

"I will leave the marathons to others. I am blessed to live in Minnesota-home of the Mayo Clinic," Coleman wrote. "I have great confidence -- and deep appreciation -- for my magnificent Mayo physicians and staff -- and the skill they bring to battling this monster."

In:
• Mayo Clinic
• Cancer