Tony Snow to Have Growth Removed

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow told Washington reporters Friday he is taking medical leave to have a tumor removed.

Scans found a small growth in his lower abdomen, but doctors do not know if it is malignant, Snow said, adding his Monday surgery is being done out of an aggressive sense of caution.

I’ll be out for a few weeks because it’s still — you know, they’re going to cut me, and it’ll take me a little while to heal up, he said.

Snow praised Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C. The couple announced Thursday they plan to continue with Edwards’ campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in spite of Elizabeth Edwards’ being diagnosed with recurrent cancer.

The biggest problem you have a lot of times with cancer is just flat-out fear, and when you’re seeing Elizabeth Edwards saying, ‘I’m going to embrace life, and I’m going to move forward,’ that is a wonderful thing, because once you decide that you’re going to embrace life, you become a much better patient, he said.