Former Republican senator and presidential candidate Bob Dole announced Thursday that he has been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.
The 97-year-old Kansan said in a statement he was diagnosed “recently” and will start treatment on Monday.
“While I certainly have some hurdles ahead, I also know that I join millions of Americans who face significant health challenges of their own,” he said in a statement.
Dole represented Kansas in the Senate from 1969 to 1996, serving as Senate majority leader from 1985 to 1987 and from 1995 to the end of his time in the upper chamber.
He was also President Ford’s running mate in the 1976 election they lost and was the GOP presidential nominee in the 1996 race, which he lost to President Clinton in a landslide. He left politics after the White House race.
Dole ran for public office for the first time in 1950 and served two years in the Kansas state House. He was then elected to be county attorney in Russell County, Kan., in 1952 and later to the U.S. House in 1960, where he served until 1969.
Prior to holding public officer, Dole served in the Army in World War II. He was seriously wounded in 1945 when he struck by German machine gun fire in his upper back and right arm. The injuries limited his mobility in his right arm and left him numb in his left arm.
Dole was the only living Republican presidential nominee to endorse former President Trump’s 2016 election bid.
Republicans heaped praise on Dole after his announcement Thursday, citing his dedication to public service.
“I have not known a better public servant, a man with a bigger heart, someone more focused on the good of the nation, more opposed to political drama, or a more incredible negotiator than Senator Bob Dole. I am luckiest person on earth to have him as one of my greatest role models, a mentor, and a dear friend,” said Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.).
“I have zero doubt in my mind Senator Dole will take this challenge head on the same way as other challenges he faced in his life. Just as he did as one of the heroes from our greatest generation, in this battle, Senator Dole will continue to show us the way through hope, resiliency, and perseverance.”