Spanish PP Spokesperson Borja Sémper Announces Cancer Diagnosis, Will Continue Duties as Possible
Madrid, Spain – Borja Sémper, the national spokesperson for Spain’s People’s Party (PP), announced Monday that he has been diagnosed with cancer and will begin treatment immediately, potentially impacting his political work and public appearances. The diagnosis came during a routine medical checkup, according to Sémper.
“A few days ago, during a routine medical checkup, I was detected with a cancerous tumor that will lead me to undergo demanding treatment, as hundreds of thousands of Spaniards do each year,” Sémper stated during a press conference following a meeting of the party’s steering committee.
Sémper indicated his public schedule will likely be affected. “My public presence will probably be altered, and I don’t know if I will be there every Monday or on alternate Mondays,” he said. “We will see, depending on how the treatment goes, my availability to continue exercising” his role as PP spokesperson.
The spokesperson emphasized his commitment to recovery. “Obviously, all my effort will be directed towards curing myself,” he added. Sémper expressed cautious optimism, noting that “medical prospects are reasonable” because “fortunately, a routine medical checkup was able to detect the tumor in a very early stage, and the medical expectation is for a cure.”
Sémper acknowledged the personal and professional disruption the diagnosis will cause. “You will understand that this has absolutely altered my life personally and professionally. We are going to try to alter it as little as possible, although I suspect it will be difficult not to,” he concluded.
He further explained that revealing his condition was a deliberate choice, stating that “one of the costs of politics” is “having to tell these things before they are told in another way and told badly.” “I do not consider myself special,” Sémper added. “Around 300,000 Spaniards are diagnosed with cancer each year in its different stages, and within the immense mess that you can understand this means, it has been immense luck that it has been found in such a early and primary stage.”
Sémper also highlighted the support he has received, particularly from PP President Alberto Núñez Feijóo. “What my colleagues have also shown me, especially President Feijóo, in recent days, is the immense human quality of the people I work with. And as these things sometimes don’t get told in politics, I want to take this opportunity to tell it. I feel absolutely supported, as I should, by my family, my friends and also by my party,” he said.
