Beastie Boy Cancer Update

Beastie Boys' Adam "MCA" Yauch is recovering from surgery to remove a tumor from his salivary gland and lymph nodes.

Yauch underwent surgery about a week-and-a-half ago and updated Beastie Boys fans about his situation through email on Wednesday. He says he's "rapidly recovering" from the operation.

"i haven't taken any of the pain meds, which supposedly speeds along the healing process, or should i say, taking them slows it down," he wrote.

"anyway, i spent 1 night in the hospital after the surgery. the hospital was too crazy to get any rest so i headed home to relax, have some home cooked food and hang out with family.

"i'm pretty well detoxed from the anesthesia that they pumped me up with to keep me under for all that time. that took several days to get out of my system. my neck and jaw are still pretty stiff from the surgery, but it gets better everyday. had the stitches out this past monday... so things are moving along."

But don't expect the Beastie Boys, who were forced to cancel all their upcoming dates when Yauch was first diagnosed, to make an early return to the road or firm up the release date for the delayed Hot Sauce Committee album. Yauch has more treatments to finish first.

"but no sooner am i on the mend from this torture than are they lining up the next one," he wrote. "the next line of treatment will be radiation. that involves blasting you with some kind of beam for a few minutes a day, 5 days a week, for about 7 weeks. that will start in a few weeks."

Yauch described his cancer as "very treatable" when he was first diagnosed with it. The cancer was caught early, was localized to his lymph nodes and salivary gland and hadn't spread anywhere else.

Beastie Boys were forced to pull out of last weekend's Osheaga Music And Arts Festival in Montreal and All Points West Music & Arts Festival in Jersey City, N.J. Jay-Z and Yeah Yeah Yeahs replaced them.

At All Points Jay-Z paid tribute to Yauch by covering Beastie Boys' "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" and Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer Karen O wore a "get well MCA" armband.

Beastie Boys tributes didn't end there, though, as Coldplay covered "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)" and Q-Tip gave the three rappers a shoutout.