Perry’s cancer terminal, says LDS church
The cancer of a high-ranking LDS official is terminal.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Friday that the thyroid cancer of Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has spread.
In April, the church announced Perry, 92, had cancer.
“Elder Perry has asked that we share his thanks for the prayers and kindness extended to him by church members and friends,” church spokesman Eric Hawkins said in a statement. “Despite earlier treatments, cancer has spread aggressively to his lungs and beyond. Elder Perry is at home. He will no longer attend meetings, though he is still receiving visits from members of the Quorum of the Twelve, the First Presidency and close family. He will begin receiving hospice care in the coming days.”
Perry spent his professional career as a vice president and treasurer in retail business. He was named to the Quorum of the Twelve in 1974 and is its second-most senior member.
He isn’t the only member of the church’s governing body to deal with health issues. Elder Richard G. Scott, 86, was hospitalized for internal bleeding and is not “fully able to participate in meetings” due to a “fading memory incident to age,” the church said earlier this month.
