Cancer diagnosis won’t keep Livingston down
Waikato regional councillor Lois Livingston has been diagnosed with cancer.
But the health scare is not deterring the veteran politician from contesting this year’s local body elections, with doctors confident she will make a full recover.
Ms Livingston, 65, said a bone marrow biopsy earlier this year confirmed she had multiple myeloma – a cancer of the plasma cells.
She has been on a course of chemotherapy and steroids for the past seven weeks while radiation therapy was used to treat a small tumour near her spine.
‘‘The cancer that I have, multiple myeloma, is very treatable and the doctors are amazed at the progress I’ve been making,’’ Ms Livingston told the Times.
‘‘All the bad levels have halved already and everything else is normal in the blood and liver.’’
Ms Livingston, who has been on the regional council for 18 years, said she was still able to do all her council duties and was excited at the chance to serve a seventh term.
‘‘There’s so many exciting things happening in council at the moment, especially in the area of land and water quality,’’ she said.
‘‘We’re really starting to sink our teeth into water quality issues and of course there are the local government reforms going on as well.
‘‘At the moment I’m carrying on as usual. My weekends are a bit blotto because I have the chemotherapy on a Friday but it’s very low grade and the doctors are happy to keep me on that regime. Ninety-five per cent of cancers are very treatable these days, it’s just about getting it in time.’’
Ms Livingston said she didn’t have a family
Lois Livingston is responding well to chemotherapy treatment. Photo: Chris Hillock/NZ Fairfax history of blood-type cancers and was refusing to let the diagnosis knock her off her stride.
‘‘People keep saying to me if there’s anyone who can fight cancer it will be me because I fight for everything I believe in. There are so many people going through what I’m going through and you’ve just to get on with it. It could have been anything but it just happens to be a type of cancer and I’ve accepted that.’’