Longtime Indianapolis television journalist Tanya Spencer died Friday after a long battle with colon cancer. WRTV.
She was 53 years old.
Spencer has worked in journalism for over 20 years, including 10 years as a reporter and news anchor at WRTV.
The beloved journalist shared a final message to friends before his death.
“Time. Health. These are our only true necessities. Our only true currency of value,” she wrote on Facebook.
According to the media report, Spencer, who is also known as Tanya Sumner after her marriage, was diagnosed with colon cancer in November 2022 while undergoing emergency surgery.
She soon learned that the cancer had spread throughout her abdomen, caused by a genetic mutation that made it “highly aggressive and fast-growing.”
After failed chemotherapy, Spencer began taking anti-cancer drugs, but in September found they were not working.
Throughout her battle with cancer, she became a health advocate and encouraged others to get colonoscopies.
According to LinkedIn, she graduated from Western Kentucky University in 1996 and began her news career as an anchor and reporter at 14WFIE in Evansville, Indiana, where she served until 2005.
After retiring from WRTV in 2015, Spencer became communications director and city council member for the town of Whitetown, about 30 minutes outside Indianapolis.
She also served as vice president of Whitetown District 3.
Emmy Award-winning WRTV host Rafael Sanchez said Spencer was “committed to excellence” in a heartwarming post commemorating her hard work as a journalist and public servant.
“She was a hard worker and a very private person,” Sanchez said. I have written “Please send good thoughts to her husband, son, father, family and friends,” she posted on Facebook.
Whitetown Mayor Katie Barr called the former anchor a “dedicated city council member” who was “rooted in our community and cared deeply about her family, friends, neighbors and colleagues,” the town’s X account reported. share.
“Her love for this region was contagious and we will miss her deeply.”
The town of Zionsville, outside Whitesville, also mourned Spencer, calling him a “true public servant.”
“Tanya was a true public servant, wife and mother. She will be missed by all. White Town and Zionsville are better because of her efforts. On behalf of all of us, we offer our deepest condolences,” the town said. Posts On facebook.
She leaves behind a husband and a teenage son.
