Joseph Mickens said he plans to return to his duties as councilman by the time city leaders meet again Nov. 19.
Mickens, 55, has been absent for the last two council meetings after he had surgery last month to remove a benign cyst on one of his lungs. He said the cyst was found after a yearly physical led to a visit to an imaging center at the suggestion of his doctor. An X-ray revealed a non-cancerous growth the size of a golf ball, Mickens said.
“They found out the tissue was not cancer, but there was a possibility later on that it could have turned into cancer, so we figured the best thing to do was to remove it now while I’m still relatively young,” Mickens said. “I’m praying and hoping to God that I’m going to be able to come to the next meeting. That’s my goal.”
Mickens, owner of local business Floor Specialist, said he’ll be away from the usual duties of his day job indefinitely as he recovers.
“I’m doing better every day and getting a little stronger every day,” he said. “We’re just trying to let it heal, and that’s a process.”
Mickens began his second term as Ward 2 councilman in July. He first took office in 2009.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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