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.
Caputo said in a statement last Wednesday that he planned to undergo “necessary screenings for a lymphatic issue discovered last week.”
He said he initially thought he was losing weight for months from a new exercise and diet regimen.
“Instead of taking the time to see my doctor, I failed to do so,” Caputo said, adding that he neglected during the pandemic to get the health care he long needed.
Caputo, a fierce defender of the President, was appointed by Trump to his role as assistant secretary of public affairs for HHS not long after the pandemic began.
There have been growing concerns at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over perceived attempts, and specifically Caputo’s role, in politicizing the critical health agency amid the coronavirus pandemic.