Tampa City Council member Lynn Hurtak announced Friday she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Hurtak, 49, made the announcement following the city council's vote to approve a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays on the Hillsborough College property on Dale Mabry in Tampa.
"I just wanted to get it out there because things will be different for a while," Hurtak said.
Hurtak said she was diagnosed on July 31. She will begin chemotherapy treatment on Aug. 31 and undergo surgery.
"I will be going through a 12-week cycle, and hopefully after that, it I will be through by Thanksgiving," Hurtak said. "I will still have to have surgery, but it is something that I have been dealing with."
Hurtak acknowledged sitting through the 12-hour Rays vote on Friday "has been very painful for me. I've had, I'm in a lot of pain right now."
"I have been poked. I have been prodded," Hurtak said. "I have been MRI'd. I have been PET scanned. On Monday, I had surgery to put a port in because I start chemotherapy on Monday."
Hurtak said she plans to continue to serve on a remote basis while undergoing treatment.
"I'll be here," Hurtak said. "I just want my constituents to know that I fought for you today. I will continue to fight for you. Nothing changes for me. It just might change where I am."
Hurtak even managed a light-hearted moment after the announcement, joking with fellow council members Charlie Miranda and Alan Clendinen.
"And I'm probably going to join Mr. Miranda and Councilman Clendenin in not having hair, but I will have a wig, so I mean, I've already thought about that," Hurtak said.:
Hurtak, who represents District 3, is running for mayor of Tampa. The election is in March.
