Wife of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Diagnosed With Breast Cancer, Bayer Wins Its First Trial Over Roundup Cancer-Causing Claims and More

Article

From the cancer diagnosis of Governor Ron DeSantis’s wife to the trial results in favor of Bayer over claims that Roundup has caused cancer, here’s what’s happening in the cancer landscape this week.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced his wife’s breast cancer diagnosis.

The wife of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Casey DeSantis, recently received a diagnosis of breast cancer, according to a statement released by the governor this week.

DeSantis, 41, is a former producer and Emmy award-winning television show host in addition to being Florida’s first lady. She is also a mother of three children named Madison, Mason and Mamie.

“As the mother of three young children, Casey is the centerpiece of our family and has made an impact on the lives of countless Floridians through her initiatives as first lady,” Gov. DeSantis wrote, as reported by NBC. “As she faces the most difficult test of her life, she will have not only have my unwavering support but the support of our entire family, as well as the prayers and well wishes from Floridians across our state.”

Bayer won the first trial over claims that its weedkiller product, Roundup, led to a child’s cancer diagnosis.

Bayer AG – the pharmaceutical company currently involved in lawsuits claiming its product Roundup has caused cancer – announced this week that it won its first trial.

The lawsuit alleged that Roundup product, a weedkiller, caused Destiny Clark’s son, Ezra, to develop Burkitt’s lymphoma. Clark had used Roundup for weeds at her home and claimed that Ezra’s exposure to it led to cancer.

Clark filed her lawsuit against Monsanto, a company owned by Bayer, for its failure to warn users about cancer risks of using the product.

"While we have great sympathy for Ezra Clark and his family, the jury carefully considered the science applicable to this case and determined that Roundup was not the cause of his illness," Bayer said in a statement, according to Reuters.

This court decision is the first to rule in Bayer’s favor out of four total involving Roundup. The Clark family is allegedly considering filing an appeal. Bayer is also currently appealing two previous verdicts, and vowed to take the potentially cancer-causing chemical out of the product.

“Chopped Junior” winner Fuller Goldsmith died from cancer at age 17.

Fuller Goldsmith, the 2017 winner of the Food Network show, “Chopped Junior,” died from cancer this week.

Goldsmith, a 17-year-old from Alabama, had first experienced cancer at age 4 and underwent treatment multiple times. He was a student at Tuscaloosa Academy and had won “Chopped Junior” at age 14.

Cal Holt, the owner of Southern Ale House in Tuscaloosa – a restaurant where Fuller spent a great deal of time – shared via Facebook that collective hearts are broken over Goldsmith’s death.

“We will miss his presence, his smile, his laugh, his banter back and forth with Brett, and his grit as fought the aches and pains of a terrible disease,” Holt wrote. “He will be missed but forever remembered. His spirit will remain in SAH for the remainder of time. To his family our love and compassion with a huge thank you for sharing Fuller with all of us. He made all of us better people.”

Rachel Maddow announced that she underwent surgery for skin cancer.

This past week, MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow shared on her television show that she found out she had a cancerous mole on her neck, and had it removed surgically.

After taking several days off to undergo surgery at a hospital in New York, she returned to work and shared her experience, also urging viewers to get checked by their doctors.

"If you have moles like I do, get on a schedule with your doctor," she said, according to CNN. She also explained that the doctors got all of the cancerous tissue and that she is “going to be totally fine.”

Maddow also credited her partner, Susan Mikula, for noticing that the mole appeared looked different in appearance.

"Even the skin cancers that are the deadliest skin cancers in this country — those too — are way more treatable than they used to be," Maddow said.

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.

Related Videos
Image of a woman with black hair.
Image of a woman with brown shoulder-length hair in front of a gray background that says CURE.
Sue Friedman in an interview with CURE
Catrina Crutcher in an interview with CURE