Ann Romney has breast surgery

SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Ann Romney, wife of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, had a precancerous lump in her breast removed, a statement said.

The Boston Globe reported Saturday that she was undergoing her annual mammogram at Brigham and Women's Hospital last week when she was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ.

The diagnosis, commonly known as DCIS, is not technically considered cancer because it has not become invasive, Romney said in a statement.

"Mitt and I feel fortunate to have caught this so early," she said in the statement. "And it reminds us how important it is for women to have regular mammograms. As in all cases of cancer, early detection is critical."

Romney, who also has multiple sclerosis, had the procedure done in Salt Lake City Friday and did not stay in the hospital overnight, an aide said.

"She's doing fine," her brother, Jim Davies, said. "She views it as a nuisance in that we've got lot of cancer in our family, and she's just got a lot of things that she wants to be doing and really did not want to deal with this."

Patients who undergo the surgery usually receive six weeks of radiation therapy afterward. In the majority of cases, the patients make a full recovery, the newspaper said.