Redondo Beach Mayor Diagnosed With Cancer

REDONDO BEACH, CA — Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand announced in a Facebook post Friday that he was diagnosed cancer for the third time, but doctors assured him he can manage the disease and continue to fulfill his mayoral duties.

Brand said he had a seizure on a flight to Mexico two weeks ago, where he was going to attend the North American Mayor's Summit.

"The seizure was a very bizarre and unexpected event that had never happened to me before," he said. "When I woke up, I had a new seatmate who had an oxygen tank in her hand and told me I had been out for about 30 minutes. She was a physician assistant who had volunteered to attend to me."

The plane landed 15 minutes later, and Brand was taken to a hospital where he spent the night. He attended the conference, but went to his regular doctor as soon as he returned, he said.

After days of tests, he was diagnosed with lung cancer that spread to his brain, which is what caused the seizure, he wrote in a public Facebook post. The seizure was his first symptom, and his doctors said he can continue his duties as mayor while he receives treatment.

This is the third Brand has been diagnosed with cancer — 25 years ago he had testicular cancer, and 20 years ago he had skin cancer, he said. However, the diagnosis was still "very shocking" to Brand, his family and close friends, he wrote. Although he's been a "very active and healthy person all [his] life," he has some short- and long-term adjustments to make, he said.

"I want to be as transparent with the public as possible, and if ever I feel that I can’t fully fulfill my mayoral duties, I will be stepping down. For now, I’m just a future cancer survivor, doing what he’s told by the people who deal with these challenges every day," he wrote. "Most of you don’t know I survived testicular cancer 25 years ago and skin cancer 20 years ago, and I will do it again. Both were just bumps in the road of life, because of the great care I received and the loving support of close family and friends. All of which I am very fortunate to still have."

Brand ended the post by saying he will see the Redondo Beach community at the City Council meeting tomorrow at 6 p.m. to decide on the budget for the upcoming year.

The main article photo is from Mayor Bill Brand's bio on the City of Redondo Beach website.