Wyoming senator fights leukemia

CHEYENNE, WYO. — Sen. Craig Thomas, hospitalized since Monday with pneumonia, began treatment for leukemia Thursday, his spokesman said.

The Wyoming Republican, who was elected to a third term while in the hospital, fell ill Sunday and was taken by ambulance to Wyoming Medical Center. He and his wife, Susan, flew back to Washington later in the day.

Thomas, 73, canceled campaign events Monday and was admitted to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., that evening, his spokesman Cameron Hardy said.

While he was hospitalized, doctors noticed a low white blood cell count, and a bone marrow biopsy revealed leukemia, which is cancer of the blood and bone marrow. Thomas began a four- to six-week course of chemotherapy Thursday, Hardy said.