Bob Casey Jr. is a Democratic member of the United States Senate from Pennsylvania. A longtime politician, his name is also well-known to Pennsylvania voters because of his father.
Casey is the current Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging after being the ranking member. He also chairs the Children and Families Subcommittee of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Now, Casey has health matters that need urgent attention.
Announces that he has prostate cancer
Bob Casey Jr. says that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The Philadelphia Inquirer notes that he is at least the sixth currently serving member of the U.S. Senate to have the disease. Following Colorado's Michael Bennet, Maine's Angus King, Utah's Mitt Romney, North Carolina's Thom Tillis, and Oregon's Ron Wyden. Casey's announcement comes just days after his Congressional colleague Maryland U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin announced a colorectal cancer diagnosis.
According to CNN, Casey has an "excellent prognosis." He's expected to undergo surgery later this year as part of his treatment.
Casey was elected as auditor general of Pennsylvania in 1996. He would be re-elected to the position in 2000. Two years later, he made a play for the Democratic nomination for governor of Pennsylvania. But he would fall well short of former Philadelphia Mayor and Democratic National Committee Chairman Ed Rendell. Rendell later won the general election. For his part, Casey bounced back in 2004, winning the race to become Pennsylvania's treasurer.
In 2006, he was elected to the U.S. Senate. He has been re-elected twice since then.
He is the son of a former governor
Bob Casey Jr. is a native of Scranton in northeastern Pennsylvania. His father, Bob Sr., served as auditor general of the Commonwealth.
He was eventually elected to two terms as governor of Pennsylvania. As mentioned earlier, his son would also go to that office. The elder Casey was also a noted athlete. He declined a chance to play professional baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies. In college, he was a future Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Bob Cousy teammate.
The younger Casey would graduate from Scranton Preparatory School. He would later earn a bachelor's degree from the College of the Holy Cross. Afterward, he served in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Eventually, he received a law degree from the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law. For several years after that, Casey was a practicing attorney.
In 1985, Casey married Terese Foppiano. They have four daughters.