Mayor facing cancer battle

Jan. 5, 2007

By Michael Rovito

Frontiersman

PALMER - Mat-Su Borough Mayor Curt Menard is taking a medical leave of absence to fight cancer, borough officials announced Tuesday.

The recently elected mayor will receive treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and at the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center for a tumor in his neck.

Menard said weeks of a sore neck prompted him to have an MRI Dec. 28. That MRI showed the tumor pressing against his spinal cord.

The former state legislator will receive radiation therapy to shrink the tumor, then surgery to remove it and rebuild any damage in his neck. He hopes to be gone for only two to three weeks.

It is Menard's second bout with cancer.

Borough public affairs manager Patty Sullivan said the entire borough is pulling for his quick recovery.

&#8220It's a great disappointment and we're certainly hoping he's going to beat it again,” Sullivan said. &#8220He's a tremendous breath of fresh air.”

Still at work Tuesday, Menard said he is wearing a neck brace to stabilize his neck to prevent further damage. Even with his pending treatment, Menard expressed his disappointment about missing out on his mayoral duties.

&#8220I love this job, and I love the process,” he said from his borough office. &#8220It was an unforeseen event.”

In 2003, Menard was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. After undergoing treatment, the cancer went into remission for nearly two years.

News of the disease's return slowly began to reach borough employees this week.

Borough manager John Duffy said Menard is one of the family within the borough, and said the news has hit everyone hard.

&#8220It's just like a family member getting this kind of news, and it's hard to put it in words,” Duffy said.

In Menard's absence, Deputy Mayor Lynne Woods will run the show.

&#8220I told him not to worry,” Woods said. &#8220The assembly will carry on.”

Woods will now preside over the Jan. 16 assembly meeting, during which a decision on the location of the Mat-Su's medium-security prison is scheduled to be decided. Woods said she is ready to take on the challenge.

&#8220We will carry on and tend to the people's business,” Woods said.

For Menard, the only thing he can think of now is getting better and getting back to work.

&#8220We're going to make the best of it,” he said.

Contact Michael Rovito at 352-2252 or michael.rovito@frontiersman.com.