President plans to undergo surgery after cancer recurs

Denver City Council President Albus Brooks will undergo surgery early next month after a recurrence of a rare form of cancer, he said Tuesday.

Brooks underwent two operations in July 2016 to remove a 15pound tumor from near his pelvis. Earlier that year, while running a road race, he had noticed stiffness in a muscle connecting his spine to his pelvis. He soon was diagnosed with chondrosarcoma, a skeletal cancer that forms from cartilage cells.

By August 2016, doctors declared him free of cancer, Brooks said then.

But a routine checkup earlier this month brought news of another tumor, Brooks said — and this time, it’s Albus much smallBrooks er, which

may make for an easier recovery.

“In 2016 the tumor in my body was the size of a cantaloupe; this one is the size of a grape,” he wrote in a statement issued Tuesday. “My surgery to remove the tumor is scheduled for the first week of May, after which I will be recovering for two weeks at home.”

Brooks, 39, is serving his second term on the council. He expects to take a shorter leave of absence from the council than the five weeks he was out in 2016. President pro tem Jolon Clark will preside over council meetings in his absence.

Brooks is married and has three children. He plans to speak later this week at CancerCon, an annual conference that’s being held in Denver this year. The gathering attracts young adults who are cancer patients or survivors, as well as caregivers and advocates.

Brooks said his cancer recurrence won’t affect his outlook.

“While this recent update certainly changes a few of the details in my life,” he said, “it definitely does not change my message of hope and resilience.”