Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd has been diagnosed with an early stage of prostate cancer and will have surgery in early August.

He confirmed it on Friday and said that he was confident he would recover and still planned to run for reelection next year in Connecticut.

I'm running for re-election, he told reporters at his Hartford office. I'll be a little leaner, a little meaner, but I'm running, he said.

Prostate cancer is the most common form of the disease in men in the United States, affecting about 6.4 out of every 100 men in Dodd's age group, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dodd, 65, a key player pushing for U.S. healthcare reform, is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.

Dodd is the son of former Democratic Sen. Thomas J. Dodd. He is married to the former Jackie Clegg. They have two young daughters.

He was elected to the U.S. House in 1974 and was re-elected in 1976 and 1978, and was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1980.

He ran unsuccessfully for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, dropping out after failing to gain support in the Iowa caucuses.

Cancer