COLUMBIA, S.C. - Sen. Kay Patterson is undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, but he says he hasn't missed a day in the Senate because of his fight.

Patterson, D-Columbia, was diagnosed with cancer in January. He had surgery in April to remove his left breast, and he said his doctor told him the cancer has been removed.

His energy is drained and his hair is falling out, but it hasn't slowed him.

"I've been here everyday for 30 years," Patterson said. "My constituents have sent me back down here for 30 years without opposition."

Patterson became a representative in 1975 and became a senator in 1985. The 72-year-old Darlington County native said his chemotherapy is administered intravenously.

"They call it the red devil into your veins," he said, adding that the chemotherapy began in May. He must undergo treatment once a month until August.