A Colorado lawmaker courageously revealed she has been diagnosed with breast cancer during a council meeting.
Arvada mayor Lauren Simpson, 42, made the shocking announcement on Tuesday night.
‘In politics, we always say pick your battles, but sometimes the battles pick you,’ Simpson said.
‘I don’t think cancer knew who it was picking when it picked me, but best believe I’m going to kick its butt.’
Simpson said she was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer over the holidays after doctors found a mass in her left breast and three tumors growing in her right breast.
She almost missed going back for a screening however after she was misdiagnosed with a benign cyst.
‘I almost didn’t go because, in my mind, I was just on the table two weeks ago,’ she said.
Simpson added: ‘Thank God I did my routine appointment, because if I waited another year, the cancer could have spread.’
Arvada mayor Lauren Simpson, 42, announced during Tuesday’s city council meeting that she has been diagnosed with stage one breast cancer
Simpson said that she is scheduled to undergo surgery next week and that she hoped to return to work in April
She noted the cancer had been caught early and reassured locals that she expected to be ‘just fine.’
Simpson told the council she is scheduled to undergo surgery on Monday and hopes to return to work as early as next month.
‘I’m going to be back here with all of you soon,’ she said. ‘I’m coming back.’
Simpson is set to undergo a mastectomy on the right side and a lump removal on the other, according to the Denver Post.
She does not expect to require chemotherapy or radiation, though she will likely need hormone therapy to help prevent the cancer from returning.
‘There’s a lot of, if this, then that,’ Simpson told the outlet.
Hormone therapy is used to treat forms of breast cancer that are linked to sex hormones, per the American Cancer Society. It is not the same as hormone replacement therapy.
Simpson said she learned of the diagnosis just weeks after a biopsy, when she was told the mass in her left breast was a benign cyst.
Simpson, pictured with her nine-year-old daughter Tabitha, is set to undergo a mastectomy on the right side and a lump removal on the other
Simpson said she learned of her breast cancer diagnosis over the holidays and was sharing the news to encourage women around her age to get screened
The lump was initially detected during a mammogram last year and Simpson briefly considered skipping her next screening as a result.
Simpson shared her cancer diagnosis to encourage women around her age to get screened.
In the US, women aged 40 to 74 who are at average risk for breast cancer are recommended to get a mammogram every two years.
Meanwhile, cancer rates have been rising for several common types of the disease. This has especially affected women, according to the American Cancer Society.
Women under 50 are now nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with cancer compared to men in the same age range.
‘I have a whole new appreciation for how important [screening] is because I’m asymptomatic,’ Simpson said.
‘I thought I was fine,’ she added. ‘Turns out I wasn’t. But now, I’m going to be.’
Experts believe the global trend for women to delay having children could increase the risk of developing breast cancer at a younger age.
The Arvada mayor will miss her state of the city address on April 10, though she will introduce Mayor Pro Tempore Randy Moorman before the speech
Simpson’s daughter Tabitha is aware of her mom’s breast cancer diagnosis and will be spending time with her grandparents during the recovery period
Simpson will also have reconstructive surgery, using fat and an artery from her abdomen to replace the removed breast.
The Arvada mayor acknowledged that keeping one breast leaves open the possibility for the cancer to eventually return, but said she did not want to lose sensation in her chest, a common side effect.
‘What stuck with me is, one woman said, ‘I can’t feel when my grandchildren hug me’,’ she said.
‘I need to feel my daughter hug me,’ Simpson said.
Simpson has a nine–year–old daughter named Tabitha, who is aware of the diagnosis and knows her mother will undergo an important surgery expected to last about 10 hours.
Tabitha will be staying with her grandparents while Simpson recovers from the procedure and potentially the painkillers that will accompany that process.
Simpson’s goal is to return for the next city council meeting, which is currently scheduled for April 7.
Arvada city affairs will be overseen by Mayor Pro Tempore Randy Moorman while Simpson recovers from surgery
While she recovers, Mayor Pro Tempore Randy Moorman has been tasked with overseeing city affairs.
The Colorado city has about 121,900 residents, according to the US Census Bureau, and is located about 10 miles northwest of Denver.
‘I’m a quick phone call away, but I don’t think they’re going to need me, to be honest,’ Simpson told the council Tuesday. ‘Nothing is going to be missed. Nothing is going to be paused.’
That includes Arvada’s upcoming State of the City address on April 10, which Simpson will introduce Moorman for.
‘You’re gonna knock it out of the park, and I absolutely cannot wait to watch you,’ she told him.
Simpson said she would miss the speech after Arvada councilwoman Shawna Ambrose convinced her that standing for an hour after her surgery was avoidable.
‘I may be walking with a cane, but I should be walking,’ Simpson said.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Simpson for further comment.
