Washington (CNN) Michael Caputo, the top spokesman at the Department of Health and Human Services who recently began a two-month medical leave, has been diagnosed with a metastatic head and neck cancer, a spokesman for the Caputo family said Thursday. After undergoing surgery last week at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, doctors diagnosed Caputo with "squamous cell carcinoma, a metastatic head and neck cancer which originated in his throat," the spokesman, David DiPietro, said in a statement. Caputo is currently resting at home in western New York with his family, where they will "decide next steps in Michael's care and recovery," DePietro said. Last week, HHS announced Caputo's leave of absence from his post "to focus on his health and the well-being of his family." Caputo said in a statement last Wednesday that he planned to undergo "necessary screenings for a lymphatic issue discovered last week."

Source: CNN September 24, 2020 18:45 UTC