How Is Amy Klobuchar Doing After Her Breast Cancer Diagnosis?

Democratic Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar first revealed her breast cancer diagnosis via a post on Medium in September, and now she has results from a follow-up exam. In September, Klobuchar detailed that a routine mammogram in February had alerted doctors to an area of concern. She wrote, "doctors at Mayo Clinic found small white spots called calcifications during a routine mammogram." After that discovery, she "had a biopsy at Piper Breast Center in Minneapolis, and then learned that I had Stage 1A breast cancer."

After her cancer diagnosis, Klobuchar had additional testing and then a lumpectomy. She followed up with radiation treatment in May, and in August, doctors believed the treatment had gone well. The senator noted, "at this point my doctors believe that my chances of developing cancer again are no greater than the average person." Klobuchar added that her diagnosis, surgery, and radiation treatments came at the same time as her father's health issues escalated as well as his subsequent death. As the Associated Press shared, the senator's father, Jim Klobuchar, died in May at the age of 93 after living with Alzheimer's disease for some time. He had been a popular newspaper columnist for Minnesota's StarTribune for more than three decades.

On November 17, Klobuchar shared a new update on her breast cancer journey via a Twitter post.

In a Twitter update regarding her breast cancer, Senator Amy Klobuchar shared good news. "I got my results back from my first 6-month post-cancer exam & everything was clear," she wrote. "I'm so grateful to be healthy and thankful for my family, friends, and the incredible doctors and nurses who have helped me." Klobuchar also nudged her followers to schedule their own mammograms to ensure any issues could be caught early.

In an October chat with Sunny Hostin on "The View," the senator admitted she had put off scheduling her regular mammogram for quite some time due to the coronavirus pandemic. Throughout the time she was navigating surgery and radiation, most people did not know about her diagnosis. While going through her treatments as well as her father's death, she said she decided "the focus has gotta be on what's in front of me and the work I was doing in the Senate." She added, "And when I got to a point where I felt it was time to share the story, I did." 

Since going public with her experience, Klobuchar has been quite vocal about encouraging others to follow up on medical appointments and tests they had put off. In an interview with "Good Morning America" correspondent Robin Roberts, Klobuchar said, "if even 10 more people get exams because they watched this interview today, Robin, will make this all worth it."