Senator departs
for ill wife’s side

Maggie Inouye will have
an intestinal cancer removed

U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye has flown back to Washington, D.C., to be with his wife of 55 years, Maggie, 80, who will have surgery to remove a cancerous growth in her large intestine.

"This will be the first time Maggie and I will not be in Hawaii on election day since 1954, when I was first elected to public office as a member of the Territorial Legislature," said Inouye in a news release. "However, I am certain that the people of Hawaii agree that I need to be in Washington with Maggie during this period of concern."

Inouye is running for his eighth consecutive term in the U.S. Senate.

The senator said the cancer was discovered about a week ago during a routine physical examination. She will undergo surgery Thursday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Inouye said doctors were optimistic the surgical procedure will be successful.

In his stead, Inouye's son, 40-year-old Daniel Jr., known as Ken, will hit the campaign trail in Hawaii today. He and his wife were expected to arrive in Honolulu last night.

"My son, Ken, and his wife, Jessica, will be representing Maggie and me during the final days of the campaign," Inouye said.

Maggie Inouye last visited Hawaii in July for the opening of the senator's campaign headquarters at Dole Cannery in Iwilei.

Inouye, who formerly taught at the University of Hawaii Lab School and at the UH College of Education, co-chairs the Ready to Learn program with her husband. The program gathers and distributes school supplies for needy Hawaii students.