former toronto mayor rob ford has announced that he will undergo 'very serious' surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his abdomen in an emotional press conference on thursday, the 45 year old politician said he met with doctors who told him chemotherapy and radiation have shrunk the tumor to a size where they can operate four surgeons will carry out the eight  to ten hour operation on may 11, and he will remain in hospital for 10 to 14 days, he said he hopes to return to work in september 'i'm just lucky to be alive today and i'm just lucky that i'm getting another chance at life,' he said scroll down for video  emotional: rob ford announced on thursday that he will undergo a lengthy operation to remove a cancerous tumor from his abdomen in may he hopes to return to work as a councilor in september, he said  ford was diagnosed with malignant liposarcoma   a rare type of soft tissue cancer that begins in fat cells or fatty tissue   last year, forcing him to quit his bid for re election for mayor instead, he ran for his old seat in city council and won the success came after he acknowledged in 2013 that he had smoked crack cocaine in one of his 'drunken stupors'   but despite the emergence of embarrassing footage of him allegedly taking the drug, he refused to resign and instead completed a stint at rehab the city council stripped ford of most of his powers but lacked the authority to force him out of office because he wasn't convicted of a crime ford's antics made him the target of late night television comedians in the us battle: ford, pictured talking to deputy mayor denzil minnan wong last december, has undergone five rounds of chemotherapy and nearly a month of radiation, which has shrunk his tumor significantly  having a laugh: toronto's chief budget officer councillor frank di giorgio is pictured with  ford during a budget meeting in january 2014   before the embattled mayor headed to rehab  last march, he appeared on jimmy kimmel live! after months of wooing by the talk show host, who introduced his guest by saying he 'has tripped, bumped, danced, argued and smoked his way into our national consciousness' after his cancer diagnosis, his brother doug took his place in the mayoral race but he lost out to mayor john tory he underwent 27 days of radiation and five rounds of chemotherapy and the 14cm tumor found in his lower abdomen has now shrunk to a manageable size, 56 by 43 by 46 cm, he said he said doctors are optimistic but there’s a chance the cancer could come back after surgery ford thanked his wife renata   who was at the press conference   his family and the people of toronto, as well as his medical staff, for their support
ford city council
ford announced at a press conference on thursday that he will undergo a 8 10 hour surgery to remove a tumor on may 11 . he was diagnosed with malignant liposarcoma   a rare type of soft tissue cancer that begins in fat cells or fatty tissue   last year . he had refused to step down as mayor in light of his crack and alcohol binges, but the diagnosis forced him to give up the role . but he ran for his old seat in city council and won 