Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner revealed at the State of the City address on Wednesday, that he was diagnosed with cancer this summer.
During a chat with former ABC13 anchor Tom Koch broadcasted on the city’s HTV, Turner said he was battling osteosarcoma, a bone cancer the doctors found in his jaw.
Turner said he learned about his diagnosis from doctors during a visit to the dentist for a root canal, the Houston Chronicle reported.
ABC13 looked into the cancer and found out that Turner’s diagnosis is rare. According to the Cleveland Clinic, 75% of cases are found in teens and young adults and most cases affect the thigh and shin bones.
It is not clear what the causes are, but doctors do know that the cancer forms when something goes wrong in one of the cells responsible for making a new bone. Symptoms of osteosarcoma include swelling near a bone, bone pain, or injury to a bone for no clear reason.
On July 30, doctors performed surgery on Turner’s leg to restructure bones in his jaw, followed by an eight-day recovery period in the hospital, the mayor said,
“Every single morning, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. Aug. 1 through Sept. 12,” Turner said. “Back at city council, that day continued to do what I needed to do in the city of Houston.”
Turner previously told the Texas Medical Center that his father died of cancer when he was 13-years-old.
Turner did not say if his battle with cancer has ended but he left viewers with a statement of hope.
“I have been blessed,” The mayor reiterated. “I have been blessed.”
