Former Gov. Roy Barnes was diagnosed with prostate cancer shortly after last year’s elections but he said Tuesday he is fine and expects to fully recover.
Barnes told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the cancer was discovered during a routine exam and it was caught early.
In January, Barnes began five weeks of “external radiation” treatment. Once that was completed, he had radioactive seeds implanted. “It’s like getting radiation all the time,” said Barnes, who heads a family law firm in Marietta.
“I’ve only missed two days of work,” Barnes said.
The first was the day the radioactive seeds were implanted and the next day because he still had a catheter, he said.
“I came back to work the next day,” Barnes, 63, said. “I encourage all men to get their [prostate] checked and all women to get mammograms. I don’t care what they say.”
He will undergo another round of tests to determine if the cancer is gone.
Barnes, a Democrat, was elected governor in 1998 but lost re-election four years later to Republican Sonny Perdue. Barnes ran for governor again last year but lost to Gov. Nathan Deal.
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