Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic discusses her cancer, prognosis, prevention

Kari Dziedzic's surprise selection to lead the Senate DFL caucus shortly after the November election has been overshadowed by what came next for the otherwise healthy 60-year-old from northeast Minneapolis: Ovarian cancer.

During a routine physical in December, Dziedzic's Pap smear came back abnormal. She went to an oncologist, whose findings were inconclusive, she said. Then came an MRI which showed a tumor in her pelvis.

Her private cancer journey paralleled her public ascension. As she was prepping in December for her first legislative session as majority leader, she was visiting a succession of doctors in search of a diagnosis.

When the doctor eventually informed her that she needed surgery, Dziedzic said she responded, "This is really not good timing."

Delay wasn't an option. On March 13, she underwent surgery that started as a less invasive laparoscopy but led to doctors cutting open her abdomen. By the time it was over more than five hours later, she'd had a full hysterectomy and her spleen and appendix had been removed, the senator said.

She has been recuperating at home since the second week in March and doesn't know when or if she will be cleared to physically return to the Senate offices this session, which has a May 22 deadline to adjourn.

"I would much rather be at the Capitol than sitting here, definitely," she said in a recent telephone interview with the Star Tribune from her home.

Her written public release of the diagnosis came as a jolt late on March 14. Throughout the previous week, Dziedzic had been on the Senate floor, betraying no signs of illness.

"I don't know that many people knew what she was dealing with," House Speaker Melissa Hortman said, adding, "I was surprised at how major the medical situation is, but I was not surprised at how she's handling it. She's just strong and determined and unflappable."

Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park and a close ally of Dziedzic's for a decade of legislative and campaign work, said she heard about the senator's cancer through the media, but she also said there came a time earlier in the session when finding time to meet with Dziedzic had become difficult. "It was evident something was going on," Hortman said.

But mostly, Hortman said budget negotiations were seamless with Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis, and Senate Finance Chairman John Marty, DFL-Roseville, stepping in to negotiate budget targets when Dziedzic had to rest immediately after surgery.

"They carried forward her vision," Hortman said. "We really didn't miss a beat."

As she worked privately with her doctors, Dziedzic's debut session as majority leader was going smoothly with the 34 DFL senators passing historic progressive measures on abortion, voting rights and driver's licenses for unauthorized immigrants despite a mere one-vote margin over the GOP. Since her surgery, she said she's been able to stay in touch with the same practices adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We kind of learned to make this work in 2020," she said. "It's not optimal. No one wants cancer. This was just surreal."

She watches Senate action on TV or her computer and casts votes by texting the acting majority leader that day. Like any other senator participating remotely, the Senate president announces Dziedzic's vote and the letter on the vote board next to her name lights up red or green.

Asked if she considered stepping aside or handing over her duties, Dziedzic emphasized she's in frequent communication with staff and colleagues. "I would say I'm having conversations with different people all the time," she said. "We're all stepping up and doing our part."

Dziedzic said her doctor is optimistic about her prognosis. "They think they got all the tumor and because it is the most common ovarian cancer that they know how to treat." But she also said she will probably need chemotherapy. "We're still having that discussion," she said.

For now, she said she's feeling OK. "I will say every day is different," she said. "My energy level fluctuates, so that's been a challenge because I'm used to going 100 miles an hour."

Dziedzic said she's not taking prescription painkillers, but she also warned: "Don't make me laugh because that hurts."

Even minor activities can be difficult. "People don't realize when they rip your stomach open, walking is hard," she said. "It still hurts, but it's getting better every day."

Dziedzic said sleep can be tricky and uncomfortable so she's sometimes awake at 3 a.m., reading for work or sending emails.

The oldest of six in a civic-minded northeast Minneapolis family, she has many siblings and nephews nearby to help. She also credits her legislative colleagues from both parties for "humbling and heart-warming" expressions of support.

"The caucus has been extremely supportive," she said. "The caucus has stuck together. I think we're united in our goal to help Minnesotans."

The Legislature's final weeks are invariably a mix of long hours, short tempers and grinding negotiations that require endurance. Dziedzic said her role will be dictated by her energy level and the advice of her doctors. "I hope to be back soon," she said.

Dziedzic said she and her doctors still marvel that they caught the cancer given that she had no significant signs. "In hindsight I had some indigestion," she said. "I cut down my coffee and that got rid of it."

But she also has a message for everyone about preventive care: "Get tested. Get your mammograms. Get your Pap smears. Get your colonoscopies."

"Prevention is the best medicine," she stressed.