The upside, and a true blessing in all of this, is that it’s operable, with a really high success rate. The downside is that it’s a major invasive surgery that involves removing a tumor on or near nerves and the brain responsible for vital functions. The risk of complications is high enough to make me uncomfortable. While the risk of death is “less than 1 percent”, actually being on the receiving end of that, feels really high. Especially, when, for five years, you’re reminded by the now dormant name of a friend on your friend’s list who died on an operating table due to complications.