Another B.C. MLA reveals battle with cancer

West Vancouver-Capilano MLA Karin Kirkpatrick is seen in an image from her Facebook page.

Victoria -

West Vancouver-Capilano MLA Karin Kirkpatrick has revealed she is battling breast cancer, making her the third MLA over the past several months to go public with a cancer diagnosis.

Kirkpatrick credits the discovery of her cancer to a reminder letter from the BC Cancer Agency telling her it was time for a mammogram.

"I almost put that letter down and I almost just threw it into the pile on my desk," she told CTV News in an interview. "But that little voice that had made (me) promise to look after myself this year, made me pick up the phone."

After a mammogram in October, she said she was diagnosed on Nov. 10 with Stage 1 invasive lobular carcinoma.

"I've got to say, I'm very lucky. I'm feeling very positive, and it's because I went for that mammogram, and I did it when I was supposed to do it," Kirkpatrick said.

Her diagnosis came weeks after Premier John Horgan revealed he was battling throat cancer and would undergo treatment. In late November, Richmond-Queensborough MLA Aman Singh revealed he had been diagnosed with colon cancer and was also undergoing treatment.

In a Twitter thread, Kirkpatrick wrote: "I would like to acknowledge my friend @AmanSinghNDP MLA for Richmond-Queensborough, who recently shared his own cancer diagnosis journey & the importance of colon screening. We r so fortunate to have access to these health tools we owe it 2 ourselves to use them!"

The news also came during the fall legislative session. Kirkpatrick was unrelenting in asking questions about the province's proposed changes to a "hub" model for kids with special needs and she raised concerns on behalf of parents of children with Autism.

"Family's very important to me, this was important that I looked after myself. But everything we talked about that last week in the legislature was about families and making sure you know parents are advocating for their kids and they've got to be healthy themselves."

Kirkpatrick underwent surgery Dec. 20 and is now encouraging everyone to book their mammograms as soon as they get their reminder letters. She believes early detection is making a difference in her cancer battle.

"It was caught so quickly, the prognosis is excellent," she said.