Updated — The long-time president and CEO of the Plastics Industry Association, Bill Carteaux, said on Twitter over the weekend that the leukemia he battled last year — and that went into remission — has returned.
In a July 22 tweet, Carteaux said that “I realized something this week. The worst words you can ever hear are not “you have cancer.” They are “it's back.” I Got This Round 2!!!”
He followed that up with a link to a fundraising page on the website of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Carteaux first publicly disclosed the leukemia diagnosis in an April 2016 letter to the board of the Washington-based association.
On the fundraising page, he said that he had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia on April 22, 2016, but after one month in the hospital and five months of chemotherapy, he had been told Oct. 21 the leukemia was in remission.
In a late evening email July 25, Carteaux said “the past couple days have been a whirlwind” after he learned late last week that the leukemia had returned and he began meeting with doctors to plan the next course of action.
Carteaux did not participate in much of the industry's annual Washington lobbying fly-in July 25-26, a high-profile event that draws about 100 people from several trade associations and many companies. Staff said he was working remotely.
“There is not a lot more I can add at this time other than I plan on continuing to be involved daily as I was before,” he said. The high-energy Carteaux then jokingly added: “It's funny, as much as I travel, my staff really looks at this as an extended business trip.”