Lenihan asked doctors whether stress caused cancer
Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan asked doctors whether the stress of coping with the country’s economic crisis was to blame for a cancerous growth in his pancreas, he said today.
Disclosing details for the first time of his illness, he said he questioned whether the unprecedented and near-catastrophic events of last year had taken their toll on him.
“Of course I asked the doctors that,” he said. “It’s difficult to know because it’s one of those cancerous developments which the doctors haven’t assigned a very definite cause.”
Striking a defiant tone, Mr Lenihan vowed to remain in office and implement the Government’s economic recovery plan while he battles his illness.
The 50-year-old father-of-two will begin a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment this week to remove the cancerous tissue, spotted during tests the week before Christmas.
He did not say whether the condition could be described as pancreatic cancer, saying only a stent had been inserted to clear a blockage and allow his pancreas to function normally.
But in a clear signal at the seriousness of his illness, he added: “It is a growth and it is a growth I intend to defeat or it will defeat me.”
Vowing to give up the “gallivanting around” associated with political life to focus on his key duties, Mr Lenihan said he would not accept invitations for speaking engagements in the next few months.
“My doctors have advised me not to be doing 14-hour days, so I won’t be doing that,” he said. “I will be prioritising. I would have been working long hours certainly.”
A Government source suggested the diagnosis is not as stark as full-blown pancreatic cancer which he was reported to have last week during a controversial report by TV3.
Mr Lenihan, whose father, former Tánaiste Brian snr died after a long battle with liver disease, said his doctors have advised he is fit to continue in his role as Finance Minister during one of the worst economic crashes in recent memory.
“If that position were to change in the course of my treatment, I would be the first to recognise it,” he added.
“At all times, I will act in the best interests of the country and in accordance with any medical advice received.”
He said he may have to undergo surgery in future, but it wasn’t possible at this stage because the growth was very close to an important blood vessel.
Undergoing up to six months of treatment would at times be debilitating, but his mental capacity to do his job would not be impaired, he said.
Mr Lenihan said he spoke last night with Fine Gael’s deputy leader and finance spokesman Richard Bruton to ensure the goodwill of political foes did not impact on their holding him to account.
“I made it very clear to him that I would expect the Opposition spokespersons to maintain the vigour of their criticism of Government policy because it is very important we have vigorous debate about the economic crisis,” he said.
“The last thing I would want would be for them or other participants in those debates to feel inhibited because of my medical condition.”
Mr Lenihan said there were issues of media intrusion that needed addressing over the decision of TV3 to report that he had pancreatic cancer on St Stephen's Day Day.
While accepting there was a public interest in the health of the Finance Minister, particularly during the current crisis, he was adamant the broadcaster should have held off until he was ready to make a public statement.
“I think the public interest would equally have been served by leaving it until now,” he said. “I would have liked a slightly longer opportunity to explain matters to my wider family and friends.”
The report sparked dozens of complaints to the Broadcasting Authority while Social Affairs Minister Mary Hanafin said Cabinet colleagues were appalled by the way it was disclosed.
Reiterating his claim that Ireland was now turning a corner away from the recession, Mr Lenihan suggested the year ahead would not be as economically difficult as the public finances and banking sector were stabilised.
But uncertainty remains over the future of some banks, while exchequer returns to be published tomorrow will lay bare the size of the financial black hole still facing the country.
Figures will show the tax take has plunged to €32.5bn, much less than current Government spending, at around €56bn.
Last month, the Finance Minister delivered one of the most feared Budgets in the history of the state, slashing €4bn from public spending.
The enormity of the crisis prompted Taoiseach Brian Cowen last month to declare 2009 – his first full year as Taoiseach – as the worst in his political career.
