See the update at the end of this post on the statement the sheriff released this evening.
ORIGINAL POST, NOV. 26, 1:34 P.M.: Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens is battling breast cancer but expects to stay on the job, she will announce at a press conference this afternoon.
In a memo to staff last week, the county's top cop revealed the cancer “is contained and curable” and that she expects some “constraints” while performing her sworn duties.
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Before reporters gathered in the Brad Gates Building in Santa Ana, Hutchens will reveal her medical condition was recently diagnosed, according to a statement from her office, which does not divulge the condition.
Hutchens, a resident of Dana Point, left retirement from a distinguished career at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to accept a 2008 interim appointment at the OCSD after then-Sheriff Mike Carona was arrested by the FBI and IRS for corruption.
She won the post outright in a 2010 election against challengers Bill Hunt, an ex-San Clemente police chief and private investigator, and Craig Hunter, then a deputy chief of police in Anaheim.
UPDATE, NOV. 26, 5:18 P.M.: The Orange County Sheriff's Department released the following statement this evening:
Sheriff Hutchens: “I Have Breast Cancer”
SANTA ANA, California (November 26, 2012)- Sheriff Sandra Hutchens announced today that she was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.“On November 9, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. The cancer was caught early and is curable. It will require a treatment program and a few constraints with some of the activities I regularly handle over the next 6-8 months,” said Sheriff Hutchens.
“At the end of that time, I will be back to my usual self. I will stay fully engaged with my duties and responsibilities as Sheriff-Coroner of Orange County and I plan to run for a second term in 2014.
“As always, it is an honor to serve as your Sheriff and I thank you all for your continued support.”
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