US ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman Jr. reveals he has stage 1 cancer – nine months after he lost his father to the deadly disease
- US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman Jr. revealed he has skin cancer
- Earlier this year, the politician learned of the diagnosis, which is stage 1
- The 58-year-old lost his father, Jon Huntsman Sr., to the deadly disease in February
- Huntsman Jr. learned of the diagnosis at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, the center his dad founded
United States Ambassador to Russia Jon Hunstman Jr. revealed he is battling stage 1 skin cancer.
The 58-year-old diplomat confirmed the melanoma diagnosis to Salt Lake City-based newspaper, The Deseret News.
Huntsman Jr. said in a September interview published Thursday: ‘It’s just stage 1… so we’ll probably get it taken care of, and we’ll be fine.’
His father, billionaire industrialist and philanthropist, Jon Huntsman Sr., passed away in February from the deadly disease.
United States Ambassador to Russia Jon Hunstman Jr. (pictured November 1 in Moscow, Russia) revealed he is battling stage 1 skin cancer
Hunstman Jr. said he recently noticed two small mole discolorations – one behind his ear and another, on his thigh.
He visited the Salt Lake City Huntsman Cancer Institute, founded by his father, to get the spots checked out.
Huntsman Sr., who also lost both of his parents to the disease, donated more than $400million to oncology research.
The former governor of Utah said in the interview he underwent a several-hour long surgery to treat the malignant moles.
He will be required to get regular check-ups over the course of the next several months.
‘It kind of puts things in perspective,’ Huntsman Jr. added.
Huntsman Jr. served as the United States Ambassador to China during Barack Obama’s term.