Clarence Pettersen has won his second battle with cancer.
The Flin Flon MLA underwent an MRI two weeks ago. It found that the cancer he had removed from his kidney area last September has not returned.
“Everything’s good,” said Pettersen.
Though Pettersen and his doctors had been highly optimistic going into surgery, the news came as an obvious relief.
“I’ve got to be honest. When you get cancer and you’ve got to wait for an operation or a result, you think about it every day,” he said. “As much as people say, ‘Oh, you don’t have to worry,’ you think about it every day. Of course I thought about that. My grandchildren are more important than anything to me, but also being the MLA for this constituency is important. I just wanted to make sure that I was able to do the job and continue, because there’s so many things I want to do for this constituency.”
Pettersen, 62, was first diagnosed with cancer in the spring of 2013 after an ultrasound revealed a growth in his kidney. He underwent surgery to have the kidney removed.
In June 2014, Pettersen learned cancer had returned to the cavity where his kidney once was. Either his surgeon had missed some of the growth or the cancer had regenerated on its own.
He underwent a more evasive surgery last September. Like his initial procedure, the surgery took place at Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre.
Like other cancer patients, Pettersen will for a period of time undergo follow-up tests every three months.
He has said he will seek re-election in the next provincial election, slated for April 2016.
