ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman says he's optimistic he'll beat throat cancer.

The Republican announced in October he'd been diagnosed with throat cancer. He says his Mayo Clinic doctors give him a 90-to-95 percent chance of beating it. He says his next PET scan in March will tell whether the cancer is gone.

Coleman agreed to take part in a clinical trial that reduced his chemotherapy and radiation to two weeks instead of the usual seven weeks. He says he was just the 52nd patient to undergo this type of treatment.

Coleman is back at work with a Washington-based law firm and at his Minnesota Action Network and has a busy travel schedule. He splits time between his home in St. Paul, his cabin near Brainerd and Washington.

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