U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) said on the House floor this morning he has been diagnosed with "high-risk prostate cancer" and will have surgery on Friday. Brooks said he has "a very good cure prognosis."

Brooks, 63, said he may have to miss several key House votes next week that were rescheduled after his surgery was set "unless I am unexpectedly medically cleared to travel."

Choking back emotion at times, Brooks said the revelation was "a difficult speech for me to give," but that missing important votes called for an explanation. The matter is "very personal, very private and very humbling," he said.

Brooks said he was called by his doctor while in Washington and then called his wife, Martha, back home in Huntsville "welcoming Trick or Treaters." "That night was one of the loneliest night apart in our 41-year marriage," Brooks said. "I kept thinking about my wonderful family. 'What do I do next?' and 'How do I beat this cancer?'"

Brooks said his father and grandfather both had the condition. His father discovered it early and lived four more decades. His grandfather discovered it too late and died "not long thereafter." Brooks said that is why he took seriously and followed up on a spike in a recent test for the level of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) in his blood. He urged men to take their health seriously and monitor their PSA levels.

Brooks said he chose Dr. Scott Tully of Birmingham's Urology Centers of Alabama to perform a "radical prostatectomy" after further tests revealed the cancer had not spread beyond the prostate.

"There are three insights from my experience that I wish to share with the public. First, don't ever take your health or family for granted. During the holidays, enjoy your family ... because no one is promised tomorrow," he said.

"Second, I encourage age appropriate men to have regular PSA tests. While PSA tests do not diagnose cancer, my PSA spike persuaded me to have the prostate biopsy that revealed my 'high risk' prostate cancer early enough for me to enjoy a very good cure prognosis," Brooks said.

"Third, I ran for the Senate in 2017. I finished third out of nine candidates in the Republican Primary. Had I won, I would not have had time for my physical and PSA test. I would not have had a prostate biopsy. I would not now know about my 'high risk' prostate cancer that requires immediate surgery.

"In retrospect, and paradoxically," Brooks said, "losing the Senate race may have saved my life!"

(Updated at 10:45 a.m. CST with new details throughout)