Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) revealed in an emotional House floor speech on Wednesday that he has prostate cancer.
Brooks lost the Alabama Senate GOP primary earlier this year, a result that he said may very well have saved his life.
“Had I won, I would not have had time for my physical and PSA test. I would not have had a prostate biopsy. I would not now know about my high-risk prostate cancer that requires immediate surgery. In retrospect, and paradoxically, losing the Senate race may have saved my life. Yes, God does work in mysterious ways,” Brooks said.
Republican Roy Moore ultimately prevailed to become the party's nominee over Brooks, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.), who is temporarily serving in the seat after it was vacated by Jeff Sessions , who became attorney general.
But Moore lost to Democrat Doug Jones on Tuesday night following reports by The Washington Post that he had pursued sexual relationships with teenage girls while in his thirties.
Brooks first learned of his diagnosis on Halloween, when his doctor called after House votes to tell him he had “high-risk” prostate cancer.
“I felt an adrenaline rush as a chill went up and down my spine,” Brooks recalled. He then phoned his wife, who was welcoming trick-or-treaters back home in Huntsville.
“That night was one of the loneliest nights apart in our 41-year marriage,” he said, struggling to hold back tears.
Prostate cancer runs in Brooks’s family; both his father and grandfather were also diagnosed. Brooks’s father discovered his cancer early enough and lived for another four decades. But his grandfather learned of it too late.
Fortunately for Brooks, a CT scan and nuclear bone scan revealed no cancer beyond his prostate.
Brooks will undergo surgery this Friday, as well as a post-surgery medical procedure on Dec. 20. As a result, he will miss critical expected House votes next week on the GOP tax overhaul and end-of-year spending package to avert a government shutdown after Dec. 22.
It’s unlikely he would be medically cleared to travel.
In the meantime, Brooks expects to recuperate over the holidays with his family. And he offered some parting advice.
“Don’t ever, ever, take your health or family for granted. During the holidays, enjoy your family, because no one, no one, is promised tomorrow,” Brooks said.
