SHEFFIELD LAKE — Mayor John Piskura said Thursday that he is battling non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Piskura, 40, got his diagnosis in October when he discovered enlarged lymph nodes in his groin area. His doctor initially suspected an infection and gave Piskura antibiotics. They didn’t work.

“The littlest thing, even with a splinter, the lymph nodes enlarge because of the infection ,” Piskura said. “They’ll enlarge fighting something you don’t even know you have.”

Two lymph nodes continued to get bigger and one was surgically removed. A biopsy gave Piskura and his family the diagnosis, and additional testing showed Piskura’s cancer is grade three, stage three.

“The grading is how fast it’s growing, and the staging is how involved in my body it is,” Piskura said. “It’s very aggressive. It’s mostly in my lower abdomen, but there are some in my chest.”

He started chemotherapy in November and begins his fourth round on Monday.

Dealing with the side effects of chemotherapy isn’t easy, Piskura said.

“The major complication from chemo is fatigue,” he said. “I don’t feel good, and perhaps the most incapacitating thing as mayor is I have a compromised immune system until the chemo is done and in remission, so I have to avoid large crowds of people in the meantime so I don’t get sick.”

As far as balancing his illness with work, Piskura said he’s got a great support system.

“Thankfully, I have a very supportive family, very supportive friends and the directors at City Hall have been really stepping up to the plate and have been very helpful,” he said. “I work from home for the city. Most of the time, with modern technology, I can answer my City Hall phone right at home. I have an office at home, and I’m able to do most of the administrative work without missing a beat.”

Piskura said his current term in office ends in 2012, and he definitely plans to run again “unless something major changes.”

While he learned that non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma used to be very difficult to treat, Piskura said his doctors have told him medical advancements have made the disease “one of the cancers with some of the best outcomes.”

With no family history of cancer, Piskura said the diagnosis initially blindsided him. He also said he understands many people have been affected by and lost loved ones to cancer, but he’s maintaining a positive mental attitude toward his disease and his prognosis.

“For me, this is more of a nuisance,” he said. “I’m pretty hard to stop. My outlook on it is that I’m going to have to go through this. It’s a pain in the ass, but I’m pretty tough, and I’ll get through it. In about three to four months after I’m done with the chemo, I’ll go on with my life. Such is life. Everybody has their crosses to bear. It is what it is.”

Piskura and his wife, Teresa, have three children ages 19, 17 and 13. They celebrated their 21st wedding anniversary Thursday.

Contact Alicia Castelli at 329-7144 or acastelli@chroniclet.com.

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