VERGENNES — In a Friday afternoon email to Vergennes City Council members, city department heads, city hall employees, and selectboard chairs in neighboring communities, Vergennes Mayor Chris Bearor revealed he has been diagnosed with a form of eye cancer that he said a specialist in Boston described as “very treatable.”

Bearor wrote he does not expect to have to stand down from his elected position: “I don’t foresee this speedbump having a significant impact on my ability to serve as Mayor, but wanted to be sure you all were aware in case I do miss a meeting here and there. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.”

Bearor, then 44, was elected to a two-year term as Vergennes mayor in March 2023. He has served for almost eight years on the Vergennes-Panton Water District Board, and previously spent almost a decade on the Vergennes Board of Listers and three years on the Evergreen Preschool board.

In the Friday email also signed by his wife, Beth, and their two daughters, Bearor said that he started experiencing blurred vision in his left eye a month ago. Two weeks ago, he said a Burlington retina specialist “discovered a growth on the top of the eyeball,” and “immediately referred me to a specialist in Boston” that he and Beth met with on Thursday and who “confirmed what we believed to be true.”

Bearor and the specialist and his team settled on the best course of treatment: Bearor said it will be “a one-time, two-hour procedure that will deliver a heavy dose of radiation to the tumor,” a procedure that will be done within the next four to six weeks.

The work, he wrote, will also include a biopsy for “genetic testing … to identify if I am at low, moderate, or high risk for reoccurrence. That information will dictate the frequency of ongoing scans, blood work, and follow-up appointments with the doctors. All of this work will happen in coordination with the medical team at Tufts University.”

Bearor described the past few weeks as difficult for him and his family, but wrote that, “Now that we have a solid understanding of what we are facing, a competent team of medical professionals guiding us, and a treatment plan that feels very doable, we are breathing a big sigh of relief.”

He added, “We are humbled by the outpouring of support, prayers, well wishes, and offers of help. We are truly blessed to live here. This is just another example of how Vergennes is The Little City with a Big Heart.”

He also pledged he would continue to provide information as he gets it.

“I will continue to update you all as I know more,” he wrote.