Former Mayor Gary Fazzino fights serious illness

Former Palo Alto Mayor and longtime City Council member Gary Fazzino has been tentatively diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a “highly treatable” form of bone-marrow leukemia.

“But I’m certainly not at death’s door,” he said in response to some reports in the community. And “it’s not a final final diagnosis,” he added.

Fazzino, who has served multiple terms on the council since he originally hosted KZSU broadcasts of council meetings in the 1970s, underwent back surgery last week for compression fractures of two vertebrae.

“I’m fine, and am getting great treatment,” he said Tuesday.

He said he is feeling significantly better following the surgery after suffering serious pain earlier.

“It’s been a hell of a few weeks. I had excruciating pain for awhile, but am much better.”

There is “a strong possibility” the fractures may be related to the disease, he said.

Fazzino said that he also had pneumonia, apparently unrelated to the myeloma beyond inactivity and lowered resistance.

He said he is continuing with treatments for the myeloma, but has a positive outlook and knows people in town “who have lived 10, 20 or 30 years” with the condition. The medical literature agrees that it is “a highly treatable and increasingly treatable” condition, he said.

He said he is getting strong support from his wife, Annette, and “we have the best patient care anywhere in this area.”

He said he will continue working as vice president for government affairs at Applied Materials in Santa Clara, and expects to see their twins, Julia and Matthew, who turn 3 in June, graduate from college.

He also has another goal: “I still intend to beat Jim Burch’s record and be the oldest mayor in Palo Alto’s history.”