Julia Shumway
Oregon Capital Chronicle
Oregon state Rep. Annessa Hartman announced Tuesday, Nov. 18, that she has been diagnosed with Stage 3 cervical cancer.
Hartman’s announcement came the day after lawmakers gathered to memorialize her friend and fellow Portland-area Democratic Rep. Hòa Nguyễn, who died from cancer at age 41 in October. Hartman, 37, and Nguyễn both won swing districts in 2022 and were part of a wave of younger, more diverse Democratic lawmakers who have reshaped the Capitol in recent years.
Hartman plans to begin treatment, including targeted radiation, chemotherapy and immunotherapy at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland the first week of December.
She said she’s fully committed to continuing her term in the state House, which ends in January 2027, and continuing her campaign for an open seat on the Clackamas County Commission.
“Public service is not something I do only in moments of ease,” Hartman said in a statement. “It’s something I believe in wholeheartedly, especially now. This diagnosis has only strengthened my sense of purpose and my commitment to building a place where compassion, accountability and community care guide our decisions.”
She added that she chose to be transparent about the diagnosis because she believes in honesty and humanity, and she urged Oregonians to prioritize their health and get cancer screenings.
“Life is fragile, terrifyingly fragile, but it is also unbelievably beautiful when you allow yourself to live inside it instead of rushing past it,” Hartman said. “While this is not the journey I expected at 37, I am choosing to move forward with grace, courage and an appreciation for life I didn’t know was possible.”
Hartman, a member of the Haudenosaunee, Cayuga Nation and Snipe Clan, is the third Indigenous person ever elected to the Oregon House. During her time in the Legislature she’s advocated for bills to make it easier to rename offensively titled locations and include tribal voices in the state’s plans to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary.
She also worked with Salem Republican Rep. Kevin Mannix to pass a law giving survivors of childhood sexual abuse unlimited time to sue their abusers and was the only Democrat to vote against a plan to raise $4.3 billion for transportation through increased taxes and fees.
Hartman is the fourth Oregon legislator to announce a cancer diagnosis this year. Along with Nguyễn, Sen. Aaron Woods, D-Wilsonville, died of cancer at 75 in April. And freshman Rep. Sarah Finger McDonald, D-Corvallis, balanced legislative work and chemotherapy for colon cancer.