patrick.net

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) has been diagnosed with cancer, the Arizona Democrat announced in a statement on Tuesday.

The diagnosis comes after Grijalva, who has been a member of Congress since 2003, sought medical treatment for a “persistent cough” that was thought to be pneumonia. However, after further testing, it was discovered that the Democratic lawmaker had cancer, he said in a statement.

💉💉 I haven’t run a SADS story in a while, but this one tracks our earlier story this week about smokers and lung cancers. The Hill ran the article yesterday headlined, “Arizona Democrat reveals he’s finished cancer treatment.”

The good news is that Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) is doing much better. In April, he went to his doctor with a persistent cough. At first, the doctors understandably misdiagnosed Raúl’s lung cancer as pneumonia, since Raúl is a non-smoker.

Why would they suspect lung cancer?

Anyway, they eventually figured it out and the Representative announced yesterday that his treatment is finished, and he’s just waiting for his doctors to clear him for airline travel, with or without tires, so he can get back to D.C. working for the people. Raúl posted this on X:

Today, I'm happy to share that I've finished my cancer treatment for now
and continue working to get physically stronger. My ability to travel to
Washington, D.C. is subject to clearance from my doctors, and they are
optimistic about that timeline.

If there’s one thing we can learn from Raúl’s case, and from our earlier article about spiking lung cancer rates, it is that cigarettes can give you lung cancer even if you don’t smoke them. Just by existing. Try not to stand too close to the cigarette section when you check out at the gas station.