Former U.S. Sen. Wendell Ford from Kentucky says he is undergoing treatment for lung cancer.
The former four-term Democrat says he was recently diagnosed with a malignancy on one of his lungs.
Ford will turn 90 in September.
Ford issued a statement Friday through a former spokesman indicating that his plans to campaign for Democratic candidates this fall have been put on hold. The statement says Ford will undergo a series of chemotherapy treatments in his hometown of Owensboro.
The former senator says he has a "very positive outlook" and has complete faith in his doctors.
Ford retired from the Senate at the start of 1999. He has remained an active elder statesman for Kentucky Democrats, campaigning for them and offering advice. Ford is also a former Kentucky governor.
