Jared Kushner is opening up about his previously undisclosed battle with thyroid cancer in his forthcoming memoir, which is to be published next month. According to excerpts of the new book seen by Reuters, Kushner, 41, wrote about being diagnosed with cancer in 2019 when he served as White House senior advisor to his father-in-law, then-president Donald Trump, 76.
Kushner detailed one significant moment in his new project in which White House physician Sean Conley informed him that test results from Walter Reed Medical Center showed he had cancer. Conley, Kushner wrote, stressed at the time that Kushner then needed to “schedule a surgery right away.”
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The father of three and husband to Ivanka Trump, 40, noted that he had surgery just before Thanksgiving in 2019, and kept his cancer diagnosis a secret (despite working in an environment where news leaks were often highly likely). As reported by The New York Times, Kushner wrote in his book that he accepted his diagnosis and prepared for surgery by relying on his faith. “When I did think about it, I reminded myself that it was in the hands of God and the doctors, and that whatever happened was out of my control,” Kushner wrote.
Another notable moment from Kushner’s upcoming book is one where he writes about discussing his diagnosis with his father-in-law for the first time. Kushner revealed that he was surprised to learn that Trump already knew about it. The businessman wrote, “The day before the surgery, Trump called me into the Oval Office and motioned for his team to close the door. ‘Are you nervous about the surgery?’ he asked.”
NEW: Jared Kushner was diagnosed with thyroid cancer while he was working in the White House under the Trump administration, according to an excerpt of his forthcoming memoir that was obtained by The New York Times. – by @jchaltiwanger @PoliticsInsider https://t.co/qfA305BWvi
— Darren Samuelsohn (@dsamuelsohn) July 25, 2022
When Kushner asked how Trump found out, he apparently replied, “I’m the president. I know everything. I understand that you want to keep these things quiet. I like to keep things like this to myself as well. You’ll be just fine. Don’t worry about anything with work. We have everything covered here.”
In the book, Breaking History: A White House Memoir, (which is to be published on August 23), Kushner also wrote that while the cancer was caught early, a “substantial part” of his thyroid needed to be removed during the surgery. This, as The Guardian reports, occurred during tense trade deal negotiations with China.
