By Matt Kelly

UPDATE: MLA Herb Cox stepping down from cabinet as cancer returns

Aug 12, 2016 | 12:28 PM

UPDATE: Battlefords MLA Herb Cox has announced his plans to step down from the provincial cabinet with the return of his cancer.

Days after his election in 2011, Cox was diagnosed with bone cancer and announced he was undergoing treatment in 2012. Now in 2016, Cox has asked to leave cabinet when changes are made by Premier Brad Wall because the cancer has returned.

“The treatment for that was stem cell transplant which I did one in 2012 and part of the treatment is to do a second one. The doctors indicated that the time is now to go through my second stem cell transplant,” Cox said.

Cox said he received chemotherapy treatment in recent months and asked to leave the cabinet because he doesn’t feel he will be able to do his duty while away from the post receiving treatment.

According to Cox, each stem cell treatment puts the cancer into remission for a period of four to five years so the new treatment is right on target with his initial treatment in 2012.

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“Unfortunately this isn’t a curable type of cancer. My attitude towards this thing all the way through has been that we delay this thing another four or five years and with the excellent cancer research that’s being done in the country, my feelings are that perhaps in another five years they may find a cure,” he said.

Despite leaving the provincial cabinet, Cox will stay with the government and remain in his position as MLA for the Battlefords.

“I feel I can do my duties as the local MLA as I did when I went through the last stem cell (treatment). It’s no different than somebody who has some other accident or illness and is laid up for a number of weeks. I will return to my duties,” Cox said.

Cox was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2011 and appointed to cabinet as Environment Minister in 2015.

Matt Kelly is battlefordsNOW’s town municipal affairs and community reporter. He can be reached at mkelly@jpbg.ca.  

Editor’s note– This story was updated at 2:05 p.m., August 12, 2016 to include comments from Herb Cox.