April 08, 2010 12:04 AM UTC

Former State Rep. Rafael Gallegos Battling Severe Cancer

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• by: Colorado Pols

According to The Village Newspaper, former state Rep. Rafael Gallegos (D-Antonito) is battling a severe case of cancer:

Former State Rep. Rafael Gallegos, the noble son of Antonito, has a severe case of cancer.

He was in St. Mary Corwin Hospital in Pueblo last week. He had three blood transfusions because he was bleeding internally. Doctors went in and patched him up…

…”I found out I had the cancer in my kidney and maybe spreading to my lungs in July 2009. The right kidney is where it all started. There are so many names, all they really go by is kidney cancer.”

He went to the Mayo Clinic for a second opinion.

Doctors recommended surgery to remove the kidney, followed with radiation and chemotherapy.

Gallegos declined.

“I didn’t want to be cut, and I didn’t want to go through chemo,” he said…

…Gallegos has three daughters and a son.

He said three things have kept him going through his illness.

“Prayers and faith are what keep you going in life,” he said. “Prayers and faith – and family — are what really matters.”

Gallegos was an incumbent member of the House when he failed to make threshold at the 2008 House District 62 assembly, and was subsequently unable to gather enough petitions to make it onto the ballot. We wrote at the time that Gallegos was considered by both Democrats and Republicans to be an all-around good guy.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family.