Nancy Kemp-Arendt begins cancer treatment

CSV deputy and former top-level sportswoman Nancy Kemp-Arendt announced in a Facebook post on Sunday she would temporarily slow down her political career to focus on her cancer treatment.

The politician at the end of December had revealed she had had suspicious spots removed from her skin. Kemp-Arendt said at the time that she had had over 20 skin lesions removed over the years, but none had proven to be malignant. During her stay at the hospital, she had lymph nodes removed as a preventive measure.

“I’m not the only one,” Kemp-Arendt said in her post online about undergoing cancer treatment. “Well, I was hoping for another result and really didn’t expect this; but it is what it is,” she continued, saying that metastatic cancer had been found in her lymph nodes.

Kemp-Arendt, who is a member of the petitions, foreign affairs, home affairs and defence committees in the Chamber of Deputies, will begin treatment this week.

“I am doing the therapy that I must like many other patients in my case, and I can do it,” she said, announcing she would “retreat a little bit” and limit herself to seeing family members and friends.

Kemp-Arendt represented Luxembourg at the 1988 Seoul Olympics in swimming and again in the triathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She was voted Luxembourg Sportswoman of the Year six times.

She then embarked on a political career and has been an MP for the CSV since 2003. She chaired the parliamentary committee on petitions from 2018 to 2023.

Last week, CSV deputy and Hesperange mayor Marc Lies announced he would take a political break for two months to recover from stress.