Mayor fights cancer
Jillian Melchior
Issue date: 9/13/07 Section: News
Mayor and student Michael Sessions had surgery Sept. 11 to remove all lymph nodes on the left side of his body in case his testicular cancer cells had spread.
"I'm extremely nervous about the surgery as I hate going into a hospital to get work done," he said in an e-mail to The Collegian sent at 6:30 a.m. the day of his surgery. "But I know everything will be fine."
The hospital said they could not talk about patients, and his parents could not be reached at printing time.
Sessions had a mass removed from his testicular region this summer. Doctors found it was a teratoma tumor, a malignant germ cell tumor with both immature and mature cells, he said.
"The problem with a teratoma tumor is that it doesn't respond to chemotherapy or radiation," Sessions said. "So the hope is that all the cancer was removed in the first operation."
He said his Sept. 11 surgery at the University of Michigan was a precautionary measure.
The surgery was scheduled to last between three to six hours, and he will be hospitalized for recovery for three to five more days.
"I'm hoping to be out of there by Wednesday, but I hear that is doubtful," he said.
Doctors will then try to determine whether the cancer has spread.
Councilmember Doug Moon said he has no complaints about Sessions' involvement in City Council since discovering his cancer.
"He's doing as well as or better than anyone could be expected to do in that situation," Moon said.
According to the University of Michigan Web site, testicular cancer is most common solid-organ cancer in men between the ages of 15 and 35.
With contemporary treatment approaches, testicular cancer is among the most curable cancers, the Web site also said, with nearly all men experiencing outstanding long-term survival.
"I'm extremely nervous about the surgery as I hate going into a hospital to get work done," he said in an e-mail to The Collegian sent at 6:30 a.m. the day of his surgery. "But I know everything will be fine."
The hospital said they could not talk about patients, and his parents could not be reached at printing time.
Sessions had a mass removed from his testicular region this summer. Doctors found it was a teratoma tumor, a malignant germ cell tumor with both immature and mature cells, he said.
"The problem with a teratoma tumor is that it doesn't respond to chemotherapy or radiation," Sessions said. "So the hope is that all the cancer was removed in the first operation."
He said his Sept. 11 surgery at the University of Michigan was a precautionary measure.
The surgery was scheduled to last between three to six hours, and he will be hospitalized for recovery for three to five more days.
"I'm hoping to be out of there by Wednesday, but I hear that is doubtful," he said.
Doctors will then try to determine whether the cancer has spread.
Councilmember Doug Moon said he has no complaints about Sessions' involvement in City Council since discovering his cancer.
"He's doing as well as or better than anyone could be expected to do in that situation," Moon said.
According to the University of Michigan Web site, testicular cancer is most common solid-organ cancer in men between the ages of 15 and 35.
With contemporary treatment approaches, testicular cancer is among the most curable cancers, the Web site also said, with nearly all men experiencing outstanding long-term survival.
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