Sanders announced that she underwent surgery after a biopsy earlier this month revealed she had thyroid cancer. Sanders was recovering at an Arkansas hospital Friday, her campaign said. “Today, I underwent successful surgery to remove my thyroid and surrounding lymph nodes, and by the grace of God I am now cancer free,” Sanders said in a statement released by her campaign. “I want to thank the doctors and nurses of Arkansas for their world-class care, and my family and friends for their love, prayers and support.” Sanders, 40, said she is looking forward to getting back on the campaign trail soon. Sanders’ last public appearance was at the Arkansas Razorbacks football game on Saturday. Spokesman Judd Deere said Sanders went to two fundraisers and held several meetings at the campaign office Thursday. Sanders, who served as a spokesman for former President Donald Trump until 2019, is running against Democratic candidate Chris Jones. She is the daughter of former Governor Mike Huckabee. “Our hearts go out to you, Sarah. Our family is thinking of you and praying for you and your family,” Jones and his wife, Jerilyn, said in a statement. Sanders, who has broken fundraising records in the race, is heavily favored in the Republican-dominated state of Arkansas. The state’s current Republican governor, Asa Hutchinson, is leaving office in January due to term limits. Hutchinson said he and first lady Susan Hutchinson wished Sanders a “full and speedy recovery.” “We hope you return to the campaign soon!” he wrote on Twitter. A doctor for Sanders said in a statement that he expected her to be back on her feet within the next 24 hours. Dr. John R. Sims, a surgeon at CARTI Cancer Center in Little Rock, said Sanders will need adjuvant treatment with radioactive iodine and continued long-term monitoring. Sims said Sanders’ cancer was a stage 1 papillary thyroid carcinoma, the most common type of thyroid cancer, and said she has an “excellent” prognosis. “I think it’s fair to say that she’s now cancer-free, and I don’t expect that to slow her down,” Sims said. During Sanders’ nearly two years in the White House, she scaled back daily televised briefings after repeatedly sparring with reporters and facing questions about her credibility. But he also earned the respect of journalists who worked behind the scenes to develop media relations. Sanders was well-known on the Arkansas political scene before she began her gubernatorial run, having appeared in ads for her father’s campaigns. He managed Senator John Boozman’s 2010 election and worked as a consultant to Senator Tom Cotton’s in 2014. She is running primarily on national issues in the Arkansas race, promising to use the governor’s office to fight President Joe Biden and the “radical left.”
