Tuesday’s City Council meeting included some extremely sad news as Vice Mayor Lana Negrete confirmed that she has been diagnosed with cancer. Many residents of Santa Monica were already aware as Negrete first posted the news a few days ago on her Facebook (/lana.fernandeznegrete) and Instagram (/lananegrete) channels.
"This is especially important for me and I will admit that I did not know that February was National Cancer Prevention Month until now," she said on Tuesday evening. "Many of you may know already as I’ve been very vocal, I was just recently diagnosed with cancer. And so I am going to be using my platform as much as possible to be vocal about all things surrounding cancer."
Five days ago, on 24 February, Negrete said, "Shit just got real," adding, "This diagnosis puts you in a place of really magnifying what’s important and letting go of what’s not."
In the first of several videos posted on her social media profiles, she said, "They are gonna fight my cancer with the BIG GUNS … You got this, they say. You’ll be fine, they say. At least we’ve got all this medical advancement, they say. Yes yes, but this shit is real and until you are faced with signing away pages of side effects that can kill you to keep you alive from the thing that can kill you, you will never know."
In front of gathered councilmembers and Santa Monica residents in chambers at City Hall, Negrete said that National Cancer Prevention Month was first observed in 2014 and has since been recognized every February. "The goal is to educate the public about the importance of cancer prevention and early detection," she said.
According to the American Cancer Society, about 1.8 million new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in the US in 2024. However, studies have shown that up to 50% of cancer cases and deaths are preventable through healthy lifestyle choices and early detection.
"By raising awareness and promoting healthy habits, the National Cancer Prevention Month aims to reduce the number of cancer cases and deaths in the future. So my personal message to you out there is ladies, get your mammograms and advocate for yourself. Young ladies and boys. Know your body and advocate for yourself. Guys get your prostate checked. Everybody check your colon," Negrete said, before ending on, "I think it’s really important that we listen to our bodies, we show up to our doctor’s appointments when we can and everybody stay safe and healthy. And hopefully we can prevent cases like myself. Thank you."
Mayor Phil Brock echoed what every single individual in the City of Santa Monica was thinking, "We wish you the absolute best in this fight and we know, Vice Mayor Negrete, that you are a fighter. You will beat this."
Negrete has said she will continue to be as vocal as she can about her experience, so that everyone can learn. "This journey is years long, not just the few months of chemo, surgery and radiation but the years of meds and scan / recurrence anxiety. So yes, I’m gonna fucking kick this fucking cancer’s ass."
