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High-profile MP and corporate executive Belinda Stronach is battling breast cancer, but wants her misfortune to serve as a wake-up call to Canadian women on the importance of breast self-examination and regular mammograms.

"She wants to get out the message that early detection is key," Greg MacEachern, her executive assistant, said in an interview.

Ms. Stronach discovered a lump in her breast in April during a self-examination.

The 41-year-old underwent a mastectomy - surgical removal of a breast - and reconstructive surgery on Tuesday. She is recovering in a Toronto hospital.

"Belinda's prognosis is excellent," Mr. MacEachern said. "That's why she's so upbeat and positive."

Ms. Stronach was diagnosed with breast cancer in April, shortly after announcing she was leaving politics to return to Magna International Inc., the auto-parts giant founded by her father, Frank Stronach.

After notifying her doctor of a lump in her breast, she underwent a diagnostic mammogram and a biopsy.

Pat Kelly, an advocate for the Campaign to Control Cancer, said she hopes Ms. Stronach will "throw some of her clout behind the cause of cancer control."

Ms. Stronach's diagnosis is a sobering reminder that cancer can strike anyone, Ms. Kelly said. "She's young, beautiful, rich, powerful and still ..." she said, without finishing the sentence.

The Canadian Cancer Society recommends that all women consider performing breast self-examination at the same time each month to check for lumps. Women between the ages of 50 and 69 should have a mammogram every two years as well as a clinical breast exam. Women over 40 should undergo a physical examination of the breasts by a trained health professional at least every two years.

Despite elaborate public health programs, only about half of postmenopausal women routinely undergo screening mammography or practice other forms of early detection.

Ms. Stronach's prognosis is good because her cancer was caught early. She was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a common form of breast cancer in which the cells lining the milk ducts (the channels that carry milk to the nipple) are cancerous.

Initially, she underwent a procedure called wide local excision, in which only the affected breast tissue is removed. For some women with DCIS, this surgery, combined with radiation, is sufficient.

But last week, Ms. Stronach underwent a mastectomy, a more invasive form of surgery that is usually done only if the cancer is high-grade and at risk of spreading.

Mr. MacEachern refused to discuss the details of her treatment, saying "this is a health matter, a personal matter." Ms. Stronach decided to make her condition public only after media outlets called to confirm rumours of her surgery.

Women who suffer from DCIS are usually cured by mastectomy and, except in rare instances, do not require radiation treatment or chemotherapy. But they are often prescribed tamoxifen, a drug that suppresses estrogen. The female sex hormone can fuel growth of cancerous cells.

Ms. Stronach is the Liberal member of Parliament for Ontario's Newmarket-Aurora riding. She has had a brief but storied political career that has included a run at the leadership of the Conservative Party starting in 2003, election to the House of Commons as a Conservative in 2004, a defection to the Liberals in 2005, and ascension to cabinet before being re-elected to Parliament as a Liberal in 2006.

She is currently executive vice-chairwoman of Magna, but continues to sit as an MP.

Mr. MacEachern said it is too early to say exactly when she will return to work, but "anyone who knows Belinda knows she has an incredible work ethic."

It is virtually certain that Ms. Stronach will also use her profile to promote the breast cancer cause.

Earlier this year, she posed in a Fashion Targets Breast Cancer T-shirt as part of a high-profile campaign.

Ms. Stronach has also been an outspoken supporter of the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control. The federal government announced the $260-million strategy last November.

The Stronach family donated $8-million to Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ont., for construction of a state-of-the-art cancer centre in the Toronto suburb.

In 2007, an estimated 22,300 Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 5,300 will die of the disease, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.