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Carly Fiorina treated for breast cancer

A representative for the former chief of Hewlett-Packard says her prognosis for full recovery is excellent.

Steven Musil Night Editor / News
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Carly Fiorina
Carly Fiorina

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina has been diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery Monday at Stanford Hospital, according to a report in The San Francisco Chronicle.

Fiorina, a Republican largely expected to run for a U.S. Senate seat for California, was diagnosed February 20, one day before addressing a state GOP convention in Sacramento, according to the report.

"She's doing great...she only just learned about this," the paper quoted Deborah Bowker, her chief of staff, as saying in an e-mail. She said Fiorina's prognosis for full recovering and that she is expected to resume "all of the activities to which she is enthusiastically committed."

Fiorina, 54, was the chairman and CEO of HP from 1999 to 2005, but was ousted after disagreements with the board of directors over how to execute the company's strategy. During her tenure at HP, Fiorina resisted calls to break the Silicon Valley icon into two separate companies, with one focused on business customers and another focused on consumers. HP's merger with Compaq Computer, which was spearheaded by Fiorina, has also been criticized.

In her 2006 book, "Tough Choices," Fiorina detailed the inner workings of what she saw as an often-divided board of directors, calling some members' behavior "amateurish and immature."

Since leaving HP, Fiorina has dabbled in politics, appearing on behalf of Sen. John McCain at the Republican National Convention during his unsuccessful bid for the presidency last year. Fiorina was also a member of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's transition team in 2003.