[JURIST] Senator Arlen Specter [official website], the chair of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee charged with vetting judicial nominees, including Supreme Court candidates, announced Wednesday that he has been diagnosed with a form of cancer known as Hodgkin's Disease [American Cancer Society backgrounder] and will undergo chemotherapy treatment. Specter, 75, missed Senate business earlier this week (including the vote approving the nomination of Judge Michael Chertoff for Hoemland Security Secretary) while undergoing tests. His oncologist said Specter had an "excellent chance of recovery". Read Senator Specter's press release announcing his diagnosis. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, himself a doctor, said in his own statement that Specter would continue with his Senate duties while getting treatment at the University of Pennsylvania medical center over the next 6-8 months. Reuters has more.