Carly Fiorina admitted to hospital for treatment of infection

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Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina, a breast cancer survivor, was admitted to a hospital Tuesday morning for treatment of an infection that her aides said was related to the reconstructive surgery she underwent this summer.

“Carly learned more than a year and a half ago that she, like millions of women, had breast cancer,” her chief of staff, Deborah Bowker, said in a statement. “After successfully battling cancer, she had reconstructive surgery this summer and remains cancer-free today. However, this morning Carly came down with an infection associated with the reconstructive surgery and, as a result, she was admitted to the hospital to receive antibiotics to treat this infection.”

Fiorina’s campaign did not disclose where she was hospitalized.

Bowker said the hospital visit would affect Fiorina’s campaign schedule Tuesday, which was to include stops in Riverside and Coachella, but said Fiorina “is upbeat and her doctors expect her to make a quick and full recovery and be back out on the campaign trail soon.”

The campaign of Fiorina’s opponent, Sen. Barbara Boxer, released a statement Tuesday wishing Fiorina well. ‘We wish Carly Fiorina a speedy recovery and hope she is able to return to her normal schedule soon,’ said Boxer campaign manager Rose Kapolczynski.

After she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, Fiorina was treated with chemotherapy, radiation and a double mastectomy. She often talks about her battle with the disease on the campaign trail while advocating for the repeal of President Obama’s healthcare legislation.

Fiorina has argued that the bill, which would extend health insurance coverage to some 32 million Americans over the next decade and ultimately prohibit insurance companies from turning away Americans based on their health status, is too expensive and would not address the problems in the current healthcare system. She has expressed concern about the burdens the legislation would place on programs like Medicaid, which she said ‘cannot handle the influx of patients that they are being asked to deal with.’

Instead, she has said lawmakers should work to encourage competition and limit frivolous lawsuits. She has also said she would support a limited role for government in subsidizing insurers who cover those with pre-existing conditions.

-- Maeve Reston

Photo: Paul J. Richards / AFP/Getty Images