Gov. Dayton to undergo treatment for prostate cancer at Mayo Clinic
One day after fainting during his annual State of the State address, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton revealed he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Dayton had not planned to reveal his diagnosis, which was made last Friday at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, until a course of treatment was determined. However, Monday's fainting incident — believed to be unrelated to the diagnosis — made Tuesday's press conference an appropriate time to reveal the condition.
Asked whether he was still up for completing his second and final term, which expires in 2019, Dayton said: “People deserve a governor who is on the job, qualified to perform the job intellectually and physically, and I believe I am."
Dayton, who will turn 70 this week, will travel to Mayo Clinic Tuesday for an assessment related to Monday night's fainting incident. He is scheduled to return to Rochester next week to discuss treatment options for his prostate.
Mayo physicians have told the governor that the cancer has not spread outside his prostate. The governor noted that his father, Bruce Dayton, was diagnosed with prostate cancer 25 years ago and was successfully treated. Bruce Dayton died in 2015 at the age of 97.
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(Gov. Dayton in 2016 / Photo by Lorie Shaull / CC)
