LOS ANGELES (CNS) – City Councilman Bill Rosendahl today attended his first council meeting since being diagnosed with cancer in late July, and said he planned to be around for a few more decades.

Rosendahl, 67, was greeted with a standing ovation when he walked into the council chamber, and he responded by thanking his colleagues, constituents and friends who called and visited during his time away from City Hall.

“The amount of love I’ve gotten has been phenomenal,” he said. “People have brought food to the house. People have prayed with me, people have sung with me. They put all kinds of positive energy toward me.”

Rosendahl said he was diagnosed with cancer July 20.

“I was hoping I would never have that word attached to me, but it did,” he said. “It came out of the blue on the 20th of July, when my internist told me you have a serious issue. I had an MRI done, and indeed I do.”

The councilman said the cancer was apparently developing for more than a year — possibly as long as three or four years — but was never detected. He said he has undergone 13 radiation treatments and two chemotherapy sessions.

Rosendahl rattled off a list of names of people who called or visited him, including actor Warren Beatty. Of fellow Councilman Tom LaBonge, Rosendahl joked, “I had to kick him out of the house.”

He also noted that he is running for a third term.

“I intend to live another 20 to 30 years,” he said.

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