No. 2 U.S. House Republican Scalise diagnosed with blood cancer

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. House of Representatives Republican leader Steve Scalise said on Tuesday he has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a common form of blood cancer.

“I am incredibly grateful we were able to detect this early and that this cancer is treatable,” Scalise said in a statement, adding that he would continue working throughout the monthslong treatment.

The congressman from Louisiana, the No. 2-ranking Republican in the House, was injured in a shooting in 2017, when a gunman attacked lawmakers practicing for an annual charity baseball game. Scalise underwent several surgeries to repair internal organs and broken bones following the assault.

U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat, said in December that he had been diagnosed with a form of lymphoma. Raskin announced in April that he was in remission.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward and Makini Brice; Editing by Rami Ayyub and Jonathan Oatis)

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