Newly elected Transcona MLA determined to stay on the job after cancer diagnosis

A rookie member of the Manitoba Legislature who has been diagnosed with cancer says he won't let it stop him from doing his new job.

Nello Altomare has started a fight against Stage 2 Hodgkin's lymphoma that will involve an estimated six months of chemotherapy treatment.

The MLA for Transcona, who won the riding for the NDP in the Sept. 10 provincial election, found out he had cancer last when he got a phone call last week at Manitoba Legislature.

"I truly don't know what to expect," he said in an interview Friday.

Altomare, 55, said he is determined to stay on as MLA and had his first chemotherapy treatment last week. He'll have to continue three days of chemo every two weeks for six months, he said.

"My intention is to fulfil my duties. Cancer isn't a death sentence by any stretch of the imagination nowadays. I want to provide some inspiration."

The retired school principal said by coming forward publicly, he hopes to inspire others.

"We're public figures. I think we're also role models. We're also people that can inspire others and I want to be that. I want to do that for people."

He said he's being supported by his church, family, friends and other MLAs.

Altomare is the second Manitoba politician to publicly reveal a cancer diagnosis in recent weeks. Winnipeg Liberal MP Jim Carr said on Oct. 25 that he had been diagnosed with a type of blood cancer.

Carr, who serves as the federal minister of international trade diversification, said he plans to serve his constituents while he undergoes chemotherapy and dialysis.