North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis revealed he was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and will undergo surgery next week in his home state. In a thread posted to Twitter, the Republican noted that he has a positive prognosis and urged others to make sure to attend regular checkups which is how the healthy 60-year-old detected the cancer early.

“Next week, I will have surgery in North Carolina to treat prostate cancer, I am in the hands of outstanding medical professionals and expect to make a full recovery.”

“I am blessed that my cancer was detected relatively early, and I can’t emphasize enough how important routine screenings are, regardless of how healthy you think you are. I had no symptoms and would have never imagined I had cancer. My prognosis is good because I went to my annual physical and received a PSA test, which led to a biopsy and eventually my diagnosis. Early detection can truly save lives.”

Tillis recently ran a tough re-election campaign against Democrat Cal Cunnigham which was recorded as one of the most expensive Senate races in the state’s history.