WY: Thomas has Leukemia

Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.), re-elected to his third term in the Senate on Tuesday, has been diagnosed with leukemia, his office announced today.

Thomas, chairman of the National Parks Subcommittee and a key Westerner on public lands and natural resources issues in the Senate, said in a statement he expects to perform his Senate duties during treatment. "I am joining all of the thousands and thousands of other cancer survivors in Wyoming," Thomas said. "I certainly didn't expect this diagnosis, but I will be back by the January session ready for full service in the new Congress."

Thomas was hospitalized Sunday for pneumonia, but further blood tests at Bethesda National Naval Medical Center led to a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia, the most common form of the disease. Thomas will begin induction chemotherapy over the next four to six weeks.
Thomas has championed the expanded use of Wyoming's coal reserves and urged the state and Fish and Wildlife Service to reach an agreement on managing the endangered grey wolf. As Parks Subcommittee chairman, he has criticized the agency at times, most notably last fall when an Interior official promoted a draft handbook that would have dramatically altered the agency's mission. However, Thomas has also supported the use of snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park.