By Steve Lyttle
slyttle@charlotteoberver.com

Charlotte City Council member and Mayor Pro Tem Susan Burgess said Monday her cancer is spreading and that she is under the care of Hospice.

Burgess, a 63-year-old Democrat, underwent surgery in February 2007 for colorectal cancer and received chemotherapy treatments afterwards. She remained on city council and won re-election last November.

“My wonderful doctors have done all that is possible to contain my cancer, yet it continues to grow and spread,” Burgess said in a statement released early Monday afternoon by city officials.

She said she has “every intention” of completing her two year term on council but asked residents to be understanding of her condition.

“The reality … is that I no longer have the energy to go and be as I always have been – and will now focus my efforts on core responsibilities of the council,” she said.

In the statement, Burgess said she is now under the care of Hospice and Palliative Care of Charlotte.

In its mission statement, Hospice and Palliative Care of Charlotte says it provides support services for patients with an expected life span of “six months or less, if the illness takes its anticipated course.”

Mayor Anthony Foxx issued the following statement: “The quiet, valiant struggle Mayor Pro Tem Burgess has fought – and continues to fight – against cancer speaks volumes about her dedication, faith, strength of spirit and passion for life. I admire her determination and she has my full support. I extend my heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Susan and her entire family.”

Burgess, a West Virginia native, is among Charlotte’s longest-serving public officials. She was a Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board member for seven years before winning election to Charlotte City Council in 1999. She ran for mayor in 2001 but finished second in a three-way race in the Democratic primary. Ella Scarborough, who won the primary, then lost to Republican Pat McCrory in the general election.

Burgess returned to elected office in 2003, winning a city council race. She was re-elected in 2005, 2007 and 2009.

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