A RIBBLE Valley councillor who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just before Christmas is to stand down.

Coun Stan Taylor, 76, had a 10-hour operation at Royal Blackburn Hospital in January and now faces six months of chemotherapy.

His surgeon has said the operation looks to have been successful, but has recommended the chemotherapy to make sure.

Coun Taylor, who has served Langho ward for six years, has praised the treatment and care he received at Royal Blackburn.

“All the staff there were absolutely wonderful,” he said. “People give the NHS a hard time but I really can’t fault them. They always had a smile on their faces and were willing to stop and talk and make sure you were OK.

“The fact that they were always so happy makes the patients happy as well, and I’m sure it helped with my quick recovery.”

Coun Taylor was diagnosed on December 12 and had his operation on January 14.

He spent one day following the operation in the critical care unit before being moved to a standard ward, where he spent 10 days before being discharged.

He said he had decided to stand down from the council because he felt he could not give it his full commit-ment in the coming months.

“My colleagues in the council tried to persuade me to stay on and said they could cover my absences while I was recovering.

“But I felt I either had to do the job properly or not at all.

“I am going to miss the council and representing my ward an awful lot, but I didn’t want to become a liability or a burden when I couldn’t attend meetings that I should be at.”

Coun Taylor will stand down at the end of May.