Iowa legislator Catelin Drey had surgery to address uterine cancer last week, and has now announced she has been deemed cancer free.
Drey told Siouxland Public Media that the partial hysterectomy surgery on January 27 was a success, as a doctor said she needs no extra treatments such as chemotherapy.
“I got really great news, heard back from my oncologist after the pathology came back. There is no evidence of residual cancer, so I don’t have to do any chemo or radiation. I just have to go to checkups every six months for the first year," she said.
Drey made those comments from the Legislature, as part of the SPM weekly show, What’s The Frequency, which can be found at kwit.org.
Back on January 26, Drey announced she had been diagnosed with the cancer, back in early December, adding that she would be getting the hysterectomy the next day.
This week, she said lots of people don’t get such positive news about their cancer treatments, so she stands in solidarity with them. She expressed thanks for the outpouring of support over the last week-plus.
Drey was elected to the Iowa Senate District 1 position in a special election held in August.
“The irony of being elected because my predecessor (Rocky DeWitt) passed away from this horrible disease is not lost on me. Ignoring the environment that Senator Dewitt and I shared is a disservice to our constituents,” said Drey.
“... We live in Iowa, unfortunately the cancer capital of the country, yet we continue to tolerate policies that make early detection harder, treatment more expensive, and recovery more precarious,” she said.
