Embattled Spokane Mayor James E. West, already fighting a sex scandal and a recall effort, will resume chemotherapy after lesions were discovered on his liver, the mayor said.
West, 54, told city employees in an e-mail late Wednesday that he will resume chemotherapy Friday and have treatments three days a week, every other week.
“A few weeks ago my blood counts started up and I had a CT Scan,” West wrote. “My doctor discovered that I have a couple of cancer lesions that have reoccurred from my earlier colon cancer.”
West said he expects to be back to work on Monday and maintain a full work schedule.
“I will still be doing my job and I don’t intend to let this slow me down,” he wrote.
The City Council has asked West to resign in the wake of the sex scandal, and a recall petition is before the state Supreme Court.
“I still say he should step down,” council member Cheri Rodgers said Thursday.
In May, The Spokesman-Review newspaper reported that two young men who met West on the Internet through a gay chat line accused him of offering them gifts or City Hall positions for sex.
West has denied he broke any laws, but has admitted to poor judgment in his personal life.
The FBI is investigating whether he misused his office.
West also had chemotherapy in 2003, after he was diagnosed with colon cancer while serving as a state senator. He had chemotherapy again in 2004, after he was elected mayor.
