By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – The top-ranking senator and only confirmed Republican attorney general candidate has prostate cancer.
Senate President Pro Tem Michael Gibbons, of Kirkwood, says in a message posted today to his campaign Web site that he will have surgery in early March to remove his prostate.
In the message, the 48-year-old calls it a "new challenge to face and beat." He says he will finish his Senate term and continue running for attorney general.
According to the American Cancer Society, nearly all men diagnosed with prostate cancer survive for at least five years.
Gibbons says his cancer was detected in its early stages.