(WWJ) Former U.S. Representative Paul Mitchell (St. Clair) has been diagnosed with Stage IV renal cancer, he revealed in an interview on WJR with Guy Gordon.
Mitchell, 64, made the announcement Tuesday morning. However, he did not specify when he received the diagnosis.
He said he survived serious complications during surgery to remove the tumor and is slated to begin immunotherapy within a couple weeks.
He vowed to fight, telling WJR doctors gave him a "50/50 chance of getting into remission."
Former Rep. Mitchell is a Michigan State University alumnus, businessman and a former member of St. Clair City Council. He served in Congress from 2017 to 2021 for the tenth district which covers northern Macomb County, in addition to St. Clair, Huron, Tuscola, Sanilac and Lapeer counties.
In mid December, he announced in a public letter he would no longer associate himself with the Republican party and became an independent. Later that month, he said he would retire from public life when his term ended in early 2021 and not run for governor.
"Either way," he told WJR's Gordon when speaking of his diagnosis. "I'm going to go down swinging."
