On Tuesday morning, Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland) revealed that she was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer. 

“I was diagnosed with breast cancer the first week of December,” Ward announced on Tuesday morning, during an interview on the Marty Griffin show on NewsRadio KDKA. 

Ward said that she received the diagnosis two weeks after being elected Majority Leader in the state Senate, but didn’t want to share the news then. 

“I didn’t want to be statewide news right after I won majority leader,” Ward said during the KDKA interview on Tuesday morning. “I thought I can’t emotionally handle that. So here we are. We’re doing fine.”

Ward said that five weeks ago she completed four treatments of chemotherapy and will be getting a mastectomy and reconstruction. 

Thank you @MartyGriffinKD @KDKARadio for allowing me to share my personal breast cancer story with you & the people I serve for the first time publicly on your show.

Love you, Marty!https://t.co/WaZBgRH8jb

— Senator Kim L. Ward (@SenatorKimWard) May 11, 2021

Ward continued to encourage women to get a 3-D mammogram and said she plans to use her position to improve healthcare in the state. 

“We will use the position that I’m in to try to advance things that we can do better in the healthcare system, with the insurance industry,” Ward said. 

Ward is the first woman to serve as majority leader in Pennsylvania’s state Senate. 

Ward, who was first elected in 2008, is currently serving in her fourth term in the state Senate.