LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — With election season in full swing, one Virginia politician is facing a battle of a different kind.
Juli Briskman is preparing to begin radiation therapy in October after receiving a breast cancer diagnosis this summer. Briskman, 56, is on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, representing the Algonkian District. The politician has been going through preliminary treatments to prepare.
“It’s Monday through Friday for four weeks,” Briskman said. “They’re setting my parameters of the position I have to be in for the twenty times I will be in there for radiation.”
Given her recent health scare, she’s hoping her message can reach beyond politics, and help other women.
Doctors have given Briskman an optimistic prognosis. Because of early detection she is expected to have a 99% survival rate. But she warns others, the cancer came on rapidly.
“I was 14 months between the mammogram I had in March of 2022, and then the mammogram I had in May of 2023," she said. "So, it's fascinating to me, that you can be clear for 14 months, and then something shows up. I really want to encourage people to get their mammograms."
If you’re trying to place your finger on how you know Briskman, beyond her elected position, in 2017 a photo of Briskman went viral when she was seen flipping off then-President Donald Trump in Virginia.
“Even before the incident with the motorcade, and my unjustified firing from my job, my community knew me fairly well,” Briskman said.
It’s a moment that Briskman says she’s moved on from.
“Some people were like 'yeah that’s Juli -- she's not known for holding back her opinion,'" Briskman said.
Briskman has represented the Algonkian District since 2019. She’s up for reelection in November. She says her cancer will have to co-exist with politics, as she runs for a second term.
“There’s no quitting -- our Democracy is at stake,” Briskman said. “I have a local seat, but I think it matters up and down the spectrum of politics right now that you stay in the game and are fighting for Democracy and our values.”
Briskman will be on the ballot with Republican Debbie Rose for her board seat in November.