There are some that manage to make it a long life with what most would have issues with (I.e. a lifetime of smoking.) A good friend died recently and he made it to what I would consider a long life. Was able to retire and stay active for years. Got diagnosed with cancer, two weeks later dead after the first chemo therapy. I’m very happy he didn’t live a much longer life - the pain that would have put him in would have been unbearable, and given how quickly he passed in guessing the cancer was fairly advanced…
Good to hear you’re healing up well! My significant other is going to have the same procedure done shortly and it’s good to hear of overall timelines of healing and what to expect.