The residents of Louisiana received an unexpected punch to the gut last week.

No it wasn’t due to the traffic issues caused by the winter weather or some new study that proclaims Louisiana is struggling in some form or fashion. No the pain we all experienced last week was courtesy of the news from our former Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, who revealed that her cancer had returned, and had spread.

In an open letter to the state’s residents, published in last Sunday’s The Daily Iberian, Blanco wrote, “In 2011, I was diagnosed with an ocular melanoma, a dangerous and rare cancer of the eye. With the help of talented doctors and medical professionals, my eye was treated with radiation, which successfully preserved my vision. The past six-and-a-half years of my life have been busy, filled with blessings and love.

“I now face a new challenge. I am in a fight for my own life, one that will be difficult to win, battling the melanoma that has invaded my liver. I knew from the start of my cancer journey this could happen, but with each passing year, I hoped this cup would pass me by. It did not.”

Blanco revealed the cancer that was in her eye had spread to her liver. Blanco is receiving treatment in Philadelphia but there is no cure for that form of cancer in the liver and she asked for prayers for her and her family.

That is the least we could all do.

Blanco is from the Teche Area (native of New Iberia, Mt. Carmel Academy graduate), which means that she is one of us, and on top of that — anyone that is battling cancer deserves our prayers regardless if they are the first female governor in our history or the first female shift supervisor at a sugar cane mill.

There has been plenty written over the years about Blanco’s career, as the lifelong Democrat broke down barriers in a two-plus decade career from Louisiana Public Service Commission, then lieutenant governor and then, of course, governor.

Blanco’s term as governor, though, is forever linked to Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Rita. For many, she failed in her response to the worst natural disaster in the state’s history. Her memorable cry on television asking for the federal government’s help was seen by some as a weakness while others applauded her compassion for her state and her people.

This isn’t about the storms that ravaged our state, or our former governor’s response to them more than a decade ago. No right now it is about the former leader of our state, who is asking for our prayers as she battles a disease that likely will claim her life.

Taking some time out to honor her request is the least we could do — regardless of our own political or religious affiliation. The former governor would do the same for us.

RAYMOND PARTSCH III

MANAGING EDITOR