Condoleezza Rice Going into Hospital for Uterine Surgery
Condoleezza Rice going into hospital for uterine surgery (CBC News – AP)
Rice to undergo minor surgery on Friday (MSNBC -AP)
Condoleezza Rice, nominated to be U.S. secretary of state, will have surgery at a Washington hospital Friday, a spokesman said.
Sean McCormack said Rice would remain overnight at the hospital and return to work the next day or so. Rice is having a uterine fibroid embolization, a procedure to block arteries that supply blood to fibroid tumours, he said. It does not involve cancer or a life-threatening condition, McCormack said.
President George W. Bush announced Tuesday that Rice, 50, currently his national security adviser, will succeed Secretary of State Colin Powell. Her nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.
I hope all goes well. This is the first I’ve heard of any health problems with Dr. Rice, who is relatively young and appears to take care of herself.
Oddly, Reuters has this story filed under its “Entertainment” section.
Did we really need to know this?
After all the breathless reporting of Cheney’s recent hospital visit, and the rather-more-detailed-than-necessary cancer-related reporting about Kerry and Giuliani (and does anyone remember Reagan’s polyps or Carter’s piles?), I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised about this also making the news.
If squeamishness about it being a woman helps tone down the coverage of such details generally, that would suit me just fine.
That’s actually a pretty common procedure for women nearing or in menopause. Nothing to worry about and it will alleviate some pain she probably experiences.