Monday, April 27, 1998 | 9:46 a.m.
Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones is well on the road to recovery from her battle with breast cancer, according to her doctor, Joseph Quagliana.
Jones held a press conference with Quagliana on Friday to discuss her treatments and condition.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer on Jan. 3, when a cancerous lump -- just larger than a pea -- was removed from her breast.
Since then Jones has undergone chemotherapy treatment and will be starting radiation treatment in mid-May. There were no cancerous cells found in her lymph nodes, a place where the cancer usually spreads to first.
"I'm really happy," Quagliana said. "She's just about half way through her chemo treatments and hasn't really had a sick day."
Jones said she wanted it to be made clear that she doesn't have cancer anymore -- the cancer was removed when the lump was removed from her breast in January.
Radiation and chemotherapy treatments are being used as a way to make sure the cancer doesn't come back. According to Quagliana, there is a 40 percent reduction in recurring cancer and a 20 percent decrease in mortality from cancer when patients use chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
Though most other cancers are considered cured when there isn't any recurring cancer after five years, breast cancer relapses can happen in 10 to 20 years, Quagliana said.
Jones said she feels tired sometimes, but for the most part feels the same as before she was diagnosed with cancer.
"There is this misconception that all of a sudden treatment is going to render someone incapable," Jones said. "I've heard stories of women who won't tell their employers about their cancer for fear of losing their jobs."
Both Quagliana and Jones stressed the importance of early detection as the best way for women to live through breast cancer. Jones found her lump through a self-examination. It was so small, it didn't even show up on a mammogram.
"Women really need to do both," the doctor said.
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