Hirono to undergo second cancer surgery

U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono will undergo surgery Tuesday to remove a lesion on her seventh rib where a second tumor was found by doctors, Hirono told KITV’s Paula Akana in an interview that aired tonight.

Hirono, who was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer and had a kidney removed last month, said she expects to make a full recovery following a day or two at the Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, where the surgery is taking place.

The rib surgery is being undertaken now “because her cancer is less aggressive than originally thought,” Hirono’s staff said in a press release following the interview.

The 69-year-old also told Akana that she is “definitely running for reelection” in fall 2018.

Hirono said she ignored an initial sign that she was ill. “For a while, I felt this weird, kind of a tightness sensation and a little bit of pain,” she said. “And I just thought it was a muscle spasm or something, and I ignored it.”

She said she feels fortunate that the cancer was found on an X-ray taken in preparation for eye surgery.