Gov. Ron DeSantis made his first public remarks Tuesday about his wife Casey’s breast cancer diagnosis, saying she’s not in much pain and will return to her advocacy role at some point.
“It’s not an easy thing when this happens,” DeSantis said at a news conference in St. Pete Beach. “Your life is going [on], then all of a sudden, this is something that puts that in the balance. And so it’s not been easy.”
Casey DeSantis, 41, has been a supporter of mental health awareness during her time as the first lady of Florida. Her diagnosis was announced by the governor’s office last week.
“Some of these things she may not be able to do in the immediate future,” DeSantis said of her wife’s initiatives. “Maybe she’ll pass the baton to me, but she’s going to be back. … She just wanted to be honest with people.”
Casey’s view, DeSantis said, is, “‘Better me than somebody who may not be able to deal with this as well. Better me than some, God forbid, other people that are close to her.’ And so that’s just kind of her spirit.”
DeSantis cited his religious faith, saying, “I’ve got faith in the big guy upstairs. And I’ve got faith in her.”
Casey is not in a lot of pain, DeSantis said, adding that she wanted to get the message out about screening.
“These screenings … can really, really be life-saving,” DeSantis said. “And so I would just encourage folks, and not just women with breast cancer, but men who have certain things that we’re more susceptible, to make sure that you go in and [get tested] when the physicians tell you to. She just had a feeling she needed to do it. And so, thank God that she did.”
DeSantis acknowledged they have a long road ahead. Their three children, the oldest of whom soon turns 5, are young enough that they’re not fully aware of what their mother is going through.
DeSantis said his mother was a breast cancer survivor, and while he was older than his children are today, “it’s a total blur to me. … I don’t remember any of the details about what it was. Even I was just too young to appreciate it at the time. So our kids really have no concept of what’s going on. And, in some respects, that’s something that will hopefully not provide any type of a load on them.”
“[She] fights. She’s tough,” the governor said of his wife. “That just shows you the type of person she is. She’s basically resigned to [the idea that] it’s better that she has to go through it than others who may not be able to handle it as well. And that’s why I love her. She’s an exceptional person.”
