Rosemont Mayor Donald E. Stephens is one of the nation’s longest-serving mayors. Stephens, 78, announced on Thursday, that he has undergone surgery for stomach cancer and hopes to return to work soon. Doctors operated on Stephens in May at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

The northwest suburban mayor said he finished radiation treatments about two weeks ago and anticipates a full recovery. Stephens’s condition has been kept as a secret. He has had a series of health issues in the last nine months. Last December, he underwent triple-bypass surgery. In May, he missed his village’s 50th anniversary gala because of another health problem before his cancer surgery.

“I’m tired. The radiation knocks the socks out of you,” Stephens said. “Other than that, I’m doing just fine.” “I just didn’t want all this sympathy,” Stephens explained when asked why his condition was kept secret.