Pavarotti resting after cancer surgery

Luciano Pavarotti, the tenor of his times to opera buffs and a celebrity whose personality captivated even casual fans, was recovering yesterday from surgery for pancreatic cancer -- a kind of cancer often considered a death sentence. His manager said he's recovering well, and two cancer experts said surgery offered improved odds for survival. The 70-year-old Italian singer, recognizable around the world from his smiling bearded face and heavy bulk, was preparing to leave New York last week to resume a farewell tour when doctors discovered a malignant pancreatic mass, manager Terri Robson said from her London office. All his remaining 2006 concerts have been canceled. ``Fortunately, the mass was able to be completely removed at surgery," she said, adding that ``his physicians are encouraged by the physical and emotional resilience of their patient." She said he underwent surgery within the past week at a New York hospital, and remained hospitalized yesterday. Because pancreatic cancer is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage, it has one of the worst prognoses of all types of malignancies. But when the cancer is contained and can be surgically removed -- as was Pavarotti's -- ``that means he has a chance for long-term survival," said Dr. Dan Laheru, an oncologist at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore, a leading institution for pancreatic cancer. Studies show that 15 percent to 20 percent of patients with pancreatic cancer who have had surgery are still alive five years after being diagnosed, Laheru said. Of such patients, 63 percent survive one year and 42 percent two years.

Before her gig with Dave Matthews at Fenway Park last night, Sheryl Crow ( inset, left, with Catherine Gellis of Waterbury, Conn.) paid a surprise visit to the patients and doctors at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The Grammy winner, who was successfully treated for breast cancer this year, met with a few women at the Women's Cancers Center and also visited with children in the Jimmy Fund Clinic. Patients were stunned when the singer walked up and said, ``Hi, I'm Sheryl." The Jimmy Fund has been an official charity of the Red Sox since 1953.

`It is unfortunate that we have to continue doing this. I really hope that we don't have to do Farm Aid forever.' Rocker and Farm Aid cofounder Neil Young.

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS