For the second time in two years, Senator Tom Coburn has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, reports CNN.  His office made the announcement on Tuesday and his spokesman noted that he would be undergoing further evaluation and treatment.  The Senator is away from work this week, but may be returning to work as early as next week.

According to Time, Senator Coburn was diagnosed with and treated for prostate cancer in 2011.  In addition, the Oklahoma Senator has also survived colon cancer and malignant melanoma.  During his last prostate cancer treatment, he returned to work within days.  Senator Coburn is not the only Senator to have faced serious medical issues recently.  His fellow Oklahama Senator, Jim Inhofe, underwent an emergency quadruple bypass last month and is getting prepared to return to work.

Tom Coburn is in his second term as a U.S. Senator, reports his website.  Studying in Oklahoma for both his undergraduate education at Oklahoma State and the University of Oklahoma for medical school, Senator Coburn is truly an Oklahoman.  Prior to joining the Senate, he was a physician, a businessman, and a Representative for Oklahoma in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Senator Coburn’s major priorities are to make government spending more transparent and accountable to taxpayers, eliminate wasteful spending at the federal level, combat corruptive actions particularly with respect to spending habits, increase government accountability, reducing the bureaucracy of the government, protect the right to life from the unborn stage to those nearing the end of life, ensure access to health care for Americans that is high quality and affordable, and provide American troops with the best equipment and weapons.

The National Cancer Institute states that prostate cancer is most common in older men.  It forms in the prostate, which is a gland below the bladder and in front of the rectum.  In 2013 alone, there were more than 238,000 new cases of prostate cancer and more than 29,000 deaths.  Researchers are continuing to develop effective screening tools to identify prostate cancer earlier and are also studying improved therapies for prostate cancer patients.  Together, research will hopefully reduce the mortality rate in the future.  Some screening methods, however, have become outdated.  In 2012, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force decided to stop recommending PSA screening for men of any age. However, Medicare still continues to reimburse for this test and any subsequent procedures that occur due to the results.