NY Gov Kathy Hochul warns others to get cancer screenings after diagnosis for ‘tiny speck’ on nose
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Thursday that she has been diagnosed with skin cancer and will undergo surgery this week to remove her skin.
The governor told reporters that her doctor discovered a basal cell carcinoma on her nose during a routine checkup a few weeks ago. He described it as a “tiny, tiny spot on my nose.”
Hochul, 66, said she will undergo surgery Friday morning.
Basal cell carcinoma is one of the most common forms of skin cancer. It is highly curable, especially if detected early.
It is a slow-growing cancer that is usually confined to the surface of the skin. Doctors often remove it through a shallow incision.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday that she has been diagnosed with skin cancer and will undergo surgery this week to remove her skin.
Basal cell carcinoma is one of the most common forms of skin cancer. It is highly curable, especially if detected early. It is a slow-growing cancer that is usually confined to the surface of the skin. Doctors often remove it through a shallow incision
Hochul urged people to get regular medical check-ups.
“A tiny little spot on my nose, you can’t even see it,” Hochul described it. She says she’s having it removed Friday as an “over-the-top precaution.”
The operation is designed in such a way that patients can often go home the same day, something Hochul hopes for.
“I’ll be out of action for an hour or two tomorrow morning,” she said.
The Democrat did say she is returning to work with “a Band-Aid on her nose.”
Hochul was recently embroiled in a scandal after a former employee was arrested on suspicion of spying for China.
Linda Sun, who served in various capacities under Governors Andrew Cuomo and Hochul from 2012 to 2023, was arrested last week along with her husband Chris Hu at their $4 million mansion on Long Island.
Prosecutors say Sun secretly worked to promote the CCP’s interests in New York, particularly when it came to Taiwan, which the CCP considers part of China. She is accused of blocking Taiwanese government officials and even attending a protest against Taiwan’s president in New York in 2018.
Hochul has recently been embroiled in a scandal after a former employee was arrested on suspicion of being a Chinese spy
Linda Sun (pictured, center), who served in various capacities under Governors Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul from 2012 to 2023, was arrested along with her husband Chris Hu at their $4 million mansion on Long Island on Tuesday morning.
In 2020, Sun texted a Chinese official, saying, “I almost had a heart attack when we mentioned Taiwan as a country. Fortunately, the press team corrected it right away.”
In 2021, when Cuomo was still governor, Chinese officials asked him for a video of the Chinese New Year. Sun said Hochul, then lieutenant governor, could probably do that and asked for “talking topics of things you want them to mention.”
“Mostly holiday greetings and hopes for friendship and cooperation / Nothing too political,” one official told her, the complaint said.
Sun later told another official that she had a dispute with Hochul’s speechwriter over the draft because the speechwriter insisted on mentioning the “Uighur situation” in China. She promised not to let that happen, and the final speech did not mention the Muslim ethnic minority or the persecution they face in China, the complaint said.
In September 2021, she was named deputy chief of staff for Hochul, according to her LinkedIn profile. She remained in that role for about 15 months.
Sun and Hu pleaded not guilty during an initial court appearance on Sept. 4 in Brooklyn and were released on bail. Sun is banned from having contact with the consulate and mission of the People’s Republic of China.
Her defense attorney, Jarrod Schaeffer, said, “We look forward to hearing these charges in court. Our client is understandably upset that these charges have been filed.”
In a statement, a spokesman for Hochul’s office said the government fired Sun after “evidence of misconduct was discovered.”
“This individual was hired by the Executive Chamber over a decade ago. We terminated her employment in March 2023 after discovering evidence of misconduct, promptly reported her actions to the police and assisted the police throughout this process,” the statement said.