A former California congresswoman who survived being shot five times during the Jonestown massacre in Guyana announced this week that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Former Rep. Jackie Speier, who represented San Mateo County and San Francisco from 2008 to 2021, posted her diagnosis on social media platform X on Thursday.
“I just became one of the 300,000 women who are diagnosed with breast cancer every year,” the politician wrote. “The good news is that it was caught early and I had a successful tumor removal on Tuesday.”
I have some personal messages that I want to share with you all because we can all learn from them. I just became one of the 300,000 women who are diagnosed with breast cancer every year.
The good news is, it was caught early and I had a successful tumor removal on Tuesday.— Jackie Speier (@RepSpeier) July 4, 2024
Speyer said she almost missed her annual mammogram due to a busy summer schedule but decided to go, which led to the cancer diagnosis.
“The lesson here is, take your screenings seriously and don’t skip them,” she wrote.
Speyer was an aide to then-Rep. In 1978, after a visit to Guyana, members of the Jonestown Settlement opened fire on Leo J. Ryan as they attempted to leave Guyana for the United States. Speyer’s boss was among the victims, but she survived with five gunshot wounds.
As a congresswoman, Speyer was an outspoken advocate for women’s reproductive rights and spoke about her abortion experience in a 2011 House speech.
Prior to serving in Congress, Speyer served as a member of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and the state Legislature.
