Aide: Growth removed from Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin not cancerous

Aide says growth removed from Durbin not cancerous

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin doesn’t have cancer.

Joe Shoemaker, a spokesman for the Illinois senator, said Tuesday that a growth Durbin had removed from his stomach earlier this month was benign. Doctors had found no traces of cancer before Durbin’s surgery but the type of tumor he had removed can be cancerous.

Durbin is the second ranking Democrat in the Senate. He underwent surgery on Aug. 12. After surgery, a full biopsy was performed, showing no signs of cancer. Doctors also performed tests on other parts of Durbin’s body and no cancer was detected.

Shoemaker says Durbin won’t require any additional treatment for the tumor and is resuming a full schedule.