Cancer sidelines Calif. congresswoman

Los Angeles-area congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald has been granted a leave of absence from her congressional duties to undergo medical treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, Roll Call reports this morning.

"I am very much saddened by the recent news of Juanita’s illness," House Administration ranking member Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.) said in a statement Tuesday, before the news of her illness became public. "She has been a dear friend and a well-respected colleague for a number of years, especially during the time we have spent working closely together on this committee."

As of last week, Millender-McDonald had missed more than 40 votes in the 110th Congress, giving her one of the largest absentee rates among all House members, Roll Call said, adding: "In May 2005 Millender-McDonald underwent what her office would only describe as a 'major surgery,' but the Congresswoman never has disclosed the ailment that necessitated the procedure. She was away from Capitol Hill for almost a month at that time."

Millender-McDonald's son, Keith McDonald, who has been serving a 41-month prison term for federal corruption charges, last year was let out of prison by a federal judge to be with his mother. He cited "the continuing illness of his wife and mother." But during those incidents, Roll Call says, Millender-McDonald either shrugged off or strenuously denied any suggestion that she might be in ill health.

UPDATE: Conservative blogger and former cancer patient Jon Fleischman, a vice chairman of the California GOP, offers prayers.

(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)