Mayor Halloran in 'good shape' after cancer surgery

Mayor Kay Halloran was back home last evening in good spirits after breast cancer surgery earlier Monday.

Halloran said the surgery appeared to confirm what the doctors had told her going into it: The cancer was the least serious type, which she said was in one spot and called Stage 0 cancer.

“I haven't had a long talk with the surgeon yet,” the mayor said. “But I'm home, and I'm not very uncomfortable, so I think I'm in pretty good shape.”

Close friends were with her.

The plan is to follow the surgery with radiation treatment, about which she will know more next week, she said.

As promised before surgery, Halloran, 72, said she will be back at work Wednesday and will run the regular council meeting that evening.

She said she's apt to use a minute at the start of the meeting as a soapbox to remind people to have routine medical screenings. A routine mammogram caught her cancer in an early stage.

“What I'm saying to everybody is it is extremely important that everybody have their screening tests at regular intervals,” she said. “Follow your doctor's advice and get yourself a regular checkup.”

Halloran, like the others on the City Council, is not covered by the health insurance plan provided to city employees. She has her own supplemental insurance and Medicare.