Sen. Tom Coburn, who has spent a combined 15 years here rooting out government waste and warning about mounting U.S. debt, will resign after the current session of Congress, foregoing the final two years of his term.

Coburn, R-Muskogee, has been battling a recurrence of prostate cancer but said he wasn’t leaving early because of his health.

In a brief interview, Coburn said he wanted to focus on the next stage in his life.

“I’ve had a lot of changes in my life,’’ Coburn, 65, said. “This is another one.”

In a prepared statement, he said, “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.