LeBlanc upbeat despite diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Dominic LeBlanc has been diagnosed with leukemia, and plans to start treatment next week. Despite hardships he is reported to have said that he has no intention to spend time feeling sorry for himself.

LeBlanc was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia last April, he said in a statement released this week. He said it was discovered after a series of tests following an annual physical exam where his doctor detected an anomaly in his white blood cell count.

“I was asymptomatic. Doctors think that I probably had that for a number of years,” Le Blanc told reporters on Parliament Hill Wednesday afternoon. He said the only physical manifestation at this stage of his illness is a swollen lymph node. “I will continue a normal routine like other people that have these condition. I don’t intend to spend a lot of time at home feeling sorry for myself,” LeBlanc shared with media. The treatment will consist of two mornings a month spent at the Moncton hospital where he’ll receive chemoimmunotherapy.