US Sen. Lautenberg of NJ says he's cancer-free

MAPLEWOOD, N.J. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (LOW'-tuhn-burg) of New Jersey says he's cancer-free.

Lautenberg made the announcement Saturday at the Garden State Equality Legends Dinner in Maplewood. The 86-year-old Democrat told the gay rights group that his doctor told him Friday: "It's gone, Frank."

Lautenberg was hospitalized Feb. 15 after falling at his New Jersey home. He was treated for a bleeding ulcer, and it was announced Feb. 19 that B-cell lymphoma was found in his stomach.

Lautenberg began chemotherapy treatment and returned to the Senate on March 2.

He became the Senate's oldest member after the death of 92-year-old Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia on Monday morning.