Sen. Lynda Wilson diagnosed with breast cancer

Shaking lots of hands comes with the job of being an elected official. But state Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, said that in coming months she won’t be shaking many hands and will instead offer a fist bump.

That’s because Wilson will have a diminished immune system from the chemotherapy she will undergo to treat her breast cancer. Wilson announced her diagnosis in a news release and on Facebook on Thursday. She stated that her condition is highly treatable and that she expects to be able to fulfill her duties as a legislator while undergoing treatment.

“I’m good,” said Wilson, who was first elected to the Senate in 2016 after serving a term in the House. “I have high spirits.”

Wilson said that she discovered a lump while doing a self-exam three weeks ago and had a hunch what it was. She said that earlier this month, she was given an affirmative diagnosis that the lump is breast cancer.

She said that she will begin chemotherapy in November and is working to arrange her work schedule around the treatment. Wilson said she decided to make her diagnosis public so she didn’t come across as evasive when people request appointments with her.

Wilson said that she will be about three-quarters of the way done with her treatment by the time the Legislature goes into session in January 2019. While she said the treatment will drain her stamina, she will seek to minimize its interference with her work in Olympia.

“I hope this will be an educational opportunity to remind women to get mammograms and do self-exams,” she said.