Sen. Andy Hill (R-Redmond) of the 45th Legislative District learned last week that his doctors discovered a small recurrence of lung cancer, he wrote on his website on Monday.

Hill was diagnosed with lung cancer in March of 2009, and eight months later he was approved by a clinical trial in Denver to use a drug called crizotinib. The white pill was part of a new arsenal of “targeted” cancer therapies, and in a Reporter article in January of 2011, Hill and his wife, Molly, call the pill “a miracle.”

Since he started taking the pill in October 2009, the cancer tumor continually subsided and the chest scans since February 2010 showed no cancer at all, noted the Reporter article.

“It took my doctors over four months to diagnose this disease (lung cancer), figuring that a healthy, athletic person that had never smoked a day in his life would never have lung cancer,” he said in the article.

In Monday’s message, Hill noted that he’s worked to maintain close communication with his constituents during his time as a candidate and state senator. He added that it’s part of his commitment to honest and accountable representation, and that’s why he’s giving a personal update.

Hill praised the health care system and thanked his doctors for allowing him to be part of the crizotinib trial.

“That drug soon became available to all and it and its successors have protected me for many years,” he wrote. “But the body can build up an immunity to specific treatments.”

Hill wrote that he will be undergoing aggressive treatment, including traditional chemotherapy followed by new cutting-edge medications. He added that tens of thousands of Washingtonians and millions of Americans are fighting and living with some form of cancer, as well.

“They don’t let it slow them down and I don’t intend to let it either,” he added. “We live in a tremendous community with great advances in the medical field and outstanding doctors. I am confident that, working with them, I’ll have a clean bill of health again soon.”

Hill is the key budget writer for Senate Republicans, is chair of the Senate Ways and Means committee and is a member of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education committee.