U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro underwent surgery this week for cancer found in his small intestine. In a statement he said, "My prognosis is good. I expect to be home recovering in Texas for several weeks before returning to Washington to continue my work on behalf of the people of my hometown, San Antonio."

The tumors were discovered last summer while traveling for a meeting of the United States-Spain Council and a car he was in was involved in a minor accident. A doctor noticed something concerning on an MRI taken following the accident, which Castro followed up with when he arrived home. 

He tried to schedule the surgery during a two-week congressional recess so he wouldn't have to miss any work in Washington, but could not make it work with his surgeon's schedule. While naturally a private person when it comes to something such as a medical diagnosis (prior to this week he had only told a small circle of friends and family), Cast felt he needed to be transparent with his constituents. He said, "Because of this surgery I’m going to have to take some time off from work, and I wanted to be honest with the people who sent me to Washington about why.” 

Read more of Castro's story here.