Cancer battle

Mayoral candidate Len Brown's family is coping with a double health blow - his wife and mother-in-law are both battling cancer.

Brown's wife, lawyer Shan Inglis, has revealed she needs treatment for throat cancer.

Inglis also told the Herald on Sunday that her mother, Shirley Inglis, is suffering from cancer and had undergone surgery.

"We are really close to my mum so we are just working through that particular process," she said. "We are just going to take it a day and a week at a time and be grateful every day."

Inglis, 49, has a common form of thyroid cancer, which has a high survival rate, the Weekend Herald reported.

She needs an operation and radiation treatment, which will keep her from supporting her husband's campaign in the lead-up to the October Supercity elections.