Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Diagnosed with Cancer

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan revealed that he has "a very advanced" cancer of the lymph nodes.

Appearing at a press conference Monday with his wife, daughters, granddaughter and sons-in-law, an emotional Hogan said he was diagnosed with an "aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma," according to The Washington Post.

He said he discovered a big lump in his neck while shaving. After going through some tests, he learned it was just one of the 30 tumors in his body.

He also suffered from a bit of back pain, which he later found out was caused by a tumor impinging on his spine, according to Business Insider.

The Republican governor recounted how the discovery of the disease unfolded with the results of his tests getting worse than the ones before.

"It was like peeling an onion. 'Let's send you for this test: Oh, that's bad. Let's send you for this test: Oh, that doesn't look so good. Let's send you for this test: Oh, that's even worse than we thought,'" Hogan said, according to The New York Times.

Even though he will undergo an 18-week chemotherapy treatment, Hogan said he will not stop serving as governor, but Lt. Gov. Boyd K. Rutherford will fill in for him if he is not available, as stipulated in the Maryland Constitution.

"Most likely, I'm going to lose my hair - you won't have these beautiful gray locks. I may trim down a little bit. But I won't stop working to change Maryland for the better. I'll be working hard and making the decisions that the people of this state elected me to make," he said, The Washington Post reported.

Despite the seriousness of the announcement, the governor was able to maintain his humor during the press conference, saying that his chances of beating the disease are "much, much better than the odds that I had of beating Anthony Brown."

"All of the experts tell me that they believe I'll come out of that completely clear. They also tell me it's going to beat the hell out of me," Hogan said, according to The New York Times.

The governor tweeted about the challenge he is presently going through, saying he will face it with the same determination he had when he faced with previous challenges.

Hogan's Twitter account was flooded by supporters who wished him well and offered prayers for him. They tweeted words of encouragement for the governor using the hashtag #HoganStrong.

Political rival Anthony Brown also wished Hogan a swift recovery.