Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York, who is running against Mrs Hillary Clinton for a US Senate seat, has announced he has prostate cancer.
The announcement by the 55-year-old mayor has upset previous calculations about what is the most controversial and hotly contested election for the New York seat in recent times. Both candidates have been up and down in the opinion polls but Mr Giuliani's rating dipped recently following his strong defence of New York police involved in shootings of unarmed men.
Mrs Clinton has wished her rival well and said that he has her "prayers and best wishes."
Mr Giuliani, who appeared smiling and cheerful under the circumstances at his press conference, said that he had "no idea" at this stage how the news would affect his election campaign.
"I hope that I'd be able to run, but the choice that I'm going to make is going to be based on the treatment that's going to give me the best chance to have a complete cure."
Pressed on whether he would continue his campaign, Mr Giuliani said: "I don't think it's fair to answer questions about the Senate race right now. . . Should I do it? Would I be able to do it the right way? I hope that's the case but I don't know." The mayor said that it was a "treatable form of prostate cancer" and "it was found at an early stage".
He said a biopsy was performed on Wednesday, two and a half weeks after a screening test indicated the follow-up test was necessary. Treatment options such as radiation and chemotherapy have not been decided but Mr Giuliani said that "some forms of treatment would require taking some time off". He did not think that it would be a significant amount.
The mayor noted that his father had died of prostate cancer in 1981: "It brings up very painful memories and I miss my father every day of my life."
Asked if the news would make the usually abrasive mayor nicer, he answered "no way".
Before the results of the biopsy on Wednesday, aides to Mr Giuliani and Mrs Clinton had agreed to the first in a planned series of televised debates before the election next November. Mr Giuliani is said to have agreed to a debate on September 11th in Buffalo, New York and a second one on October 30th, a week before the election. Mrs Clinton has so far agreed to one of these debates without saying which one.
Mrs Clinton said in an interview on Wednesday night that she would not run for president in 2004 if she is elected to the Senate for a six-year term. Political observers have been speculating that she has her sights on the White House and would use a Senate seat as a springboard.