Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley has been diagnosed with a bladder tumor, according to a KSBW report. Intent on maintaining a "business as usual" attitude, Keeley announced he will undergo surgery in early August but is expected to only take a few days off to recover, proving that not even cancer could stand in his way.

Despite the alarming diagnosis, Keeley seems to be taking the news in stride, with doctors confident that he'll make a full recovery, as noted in an interview with Lookout Santa Cruz. Keeley's cancer was detected after having experienced some symptoms, but the 73-year-old mayor reassured his constituents, stating, "They told me we got this early and it’s not terribly aggressive."

Even with the cancer diagnosis hanging over his head, Mayor Keeley has no plans to slow down. He's scheduled a vacation to Portugal before his surgery and continues his duties without any hindrance.

However, this isn't the first time Keeley has faced health issues. As previously mentioned, he was taken to the hospital on December 8, 2022, after a medical emergency, where he was diagnosed with transient global amnesia (TGA), a sudden and temporary interruption of short-term memory, as KSBW chronicled in their report. This diagnosis came after receiving a clean bill of health earlier in 2022 as part of his mayoral campaign. Furthermore, he had suffered a minor stroke in 2009 and was hospitalized for an "undisclosed reason" in 2002 as a state legislator.

While the diagnosis and upcoming surgery have brought a sense of unease, there is a possibility that Mayor Keeley might miss a city council meeting or two, as he admitted in an interview with the Santa Cruz Sentinel. However, resolute in his stance, he stated, "This isn’t a good thing, but my doctors feel it’s a solvable problem."