McCain’s health is ‘fine’

John McCain declared Monday he has been cancer-free since a bout with skin cancer 7 1/2 years ago, although the presumptive Republican presidential nominee underwent a full medical examination -- including a cancer screening -- earlier in the day.

The Arizona senator pledged to release the results before the end of April, the same time frame for releasing his income tax returns.

In August 2000, doctors excised melanomas -- the most serious form of skin cancer -- from his left temple and left arm. They also removed lymph nodes in his face and neck to ensure that the cancer had not spread. McCain often jokes, “I have more scars than Frankenstein.”

McCain, 71, who has faced questions about whether his cancer could recur, cast Monday’s doctor’s visit as a routine part of his medical regimen.

“Everything’s fine,” McCain said at a news conference. “Like most Americans, I go see my doctor fairly frequently.”

Later, during a flight to St. Louis, McCain was asked if he was cancer-free. “Oh yeah,” he responded.

The medical exam was the first order of business in McCain’s first full week as the presumed GOP nominee. It also kicked off a multifaceted effort aimed at reintroducing the senator to voters while Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton continue to battle for the Democratic nomination.