( CNN ) -- U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn announced Thursday that he will retire at the end of the current congressional session , ending his six-year term two years early . The Oklahoma Republican , 65 , has been battling cancer . `` But this decision is n't about my health , my prognosis or even my hopes and desires , '' he said in a statement . `` As a citizen , I am now convinced that I can best serve my own children and grandchildren by shifting my focus elsewhere . In the meantime , I look forward to finishing this year strong . '' Coburn is a doctor who specialized in obstetrics before embarking on his political career . `` As dysfunctional as Washington is these days , change is still possible when 'We the People ' get engaged , run for office themselves or make their voices heard . After all , how else could a country doctor from Muskogee with no political experience make it to Washington ? '' he wrote . Before his time in the Senate , Coburn served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 through 2001 , according to a biography on his website . In 2004 , he was elected to serve in the Senate ; he was re-elected in 2010 . Coburn and his wife have three children and seven grandchildren , according to the biography . `` My commitment to the people of Oklahoma has always been that I would serve no more than two terms . Our founders saw public service and politics as a calling rather than a career . That 's how I saw it when I first ran for office in 1994 , and that 's how I still see it today , '' he wrote in Thursday 's statement . CNN 's Dana Bash contributed to this report .
Coburn will step down at the end of the current congressional session . The Oklahoma Republican has been battling cancer . He says he looks forward to finishing this year strong .