Aaron Reibe, the 28-year-old Longview man diagnosed with a rare cancer in October and who underwent a 15-hour surgery in Baltimore on Jan. 3, was released from Mercy Medical Center on Wednesday, according to his mother, Peggy Reibe of Longview.

He is expected to fly to Longview on Thursday.

A graduate of Mark Morris High School and Washington State University, Aaron Reibe has pseudomyxoma peritonei, a fast-moving cancer that coats organs with mucus and strangles them. Dr. Armando Sardi worked with a team of surgeons to remove 60 percent of Reibe’s stomach, his spleen, appendix and parts of his intestines.

Several days after the surgery, Reibe was sitting in a chair and walking, his mother reported in e-mails. Twelves days after the surgery, the IV tubes were taken out and Reibe began to eat small amounts of solid food. When he arrives home, he will be able to follow normal routines.

"He will need to have about six months of chemotherapy at three-week intervals," Peggy Reibe said, and "be monitored with periodic CT scans and blood cancer markers," probably at St. John Medical Center in Longview.

Contributions for Aaron Reibe’s medical costs may be made to Red Canoe Credit Union locations or by mail to Red Canoe Credit Union, PO Box 3020, Longview, WA 98632.