May 24, 2013: The Rt. Rev. M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, met with his doctors at the Dana Farber Brigham and Women's Cancer Center in Boston today and learned that the tumor removed from his brain last Friday is indeed cancerous. He will begin both radiation and chemotherapy in the next few weeks.
"This is hard news for all of us to hear," the Rev. Canon Mally Lloyd, Canon to the Ordinary, said in an e-mail this evening to diocesan clergy and leadership. She said Shaw "has great confidence in his doctors, and he has great confidence in his life of prayer."
Shaw underwent surgery on May 17 to remove a mass on his brain that was discovered following tests conducted the previous day. That surgery went well and he returned home to the monastery of the Society of St. John the Evangelist in Cambridge on May 19 where he has been recuperating and resting well.
He plans to get back to work slowly in the upcoming week, Lloyd said in her e-mail.
"He asked me to once again express his appreciation for your continuing prayers and to convey how much he has enjoyed reading the many cards and letters that arrive daily at his home. This result is not what I have been praying for, but Bishop Tom assures me that continued prayer is what he wants most."
Cards and letters continue to be welcome as well and can be sent to Shaw in care of The Monastery, Society of St. John the Evangelist, 980 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02138.