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GREER, S.C. (AP)  | 12/21/2006 06:47 PM

Sam Brownback said Thursday that conservative values like opposition to abortion and gay marriage will distinguish him from others vying for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

”I think there’s room in the field for someone with full-scale conservative values,” the Kansas senator told about 80 people at a conference room of a branch of the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System. ”I don’t think that end of the field’s crowded.”

Brownback’s visit comes one day after another possible GOP contender for the White House _ former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating _ visited South Carolina.

Brownback, who said he will announce next month whether or not he will run, also spoke about this early voting state’s importance in the nomination process.

”There’s a good probability South Carolina will make the determination of who the Republican nominee is,” he said.

Brownback, who was diagnosed with melanoma in 1995, visited a cancer center in Anderson.

He said he wants to see an end to life-threatening cancer in 10 years.

”This is a great chance for hope. It is actually within our reach,” said Brownback. Cancer is the ”leading cause of fear in America today. It’s not terrorism.”

He wants earlier screenings for high-risk groups and thinks more patients should participate earlier in trial treatments, which help find a successful approach, he said.

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