John Beale, Post-Gazette Dr. Stanley Marks, left, and Dr. Frank Liebermann, of the UPMC Cancer Center, talk about treatment being given to Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor during a briefing earlier today. Click photo for larger image. Online audio Dr. Frank Lieberman: The mayor is still a little sleepy Dr. Stanley Marks: The mayor's treatment. Dr. Marks: The mayor's ulcer. Dr. Marks: The mayor's current condition. Dr. Lieberman: The mayor's desire to continue his duties. Dr. Lieberman: The mayor may return to work.

Mayor Bob O'Connor tolerated his first chemotherapy treatment "extremely well" and his headache and neck pain have been reduced, doctors at UPMC Shadyside said today.

At a press conference, Drs. Stanley Marks and Frank Lieberman said Mr. O'Connor looks better today and was able to sleep on and off through the night. He received a four-hour treatment with the drug methotrexate last evening, the day after his diagnosis of primary central nervous system T-cell lymphoma was announced.

He will remain in the hospital at least until Friday and will be released once the drug clears his system.

Another methotrexate dose will be given in about two weeks. In the meantime, he will receive a second chemotherapy drug.

Dr. Lieberman said Mr. O'Connor is determined to return to his work as soon as possible, and in general, doctors encourage patients to be active after treatment begins. He said doctors won't put any limits on Mr. O'Connor's activity. The mayor will probably be exhausted for a couple days, and he and his staff will probably know in a couple weeks how much the mayor will be able to do.

Mr. O'Connor is due to receive 10 to 12 weeks of chemotherapy. He will likely have another magnetic resonance scan of his brain after the second dose of methotrexate. That's sooner than in some cases, Dr. Lieberman said, but doctors want to make sure things are "going in the right direction" partly because the T-cell form is so rare.

The mayor is also receiving a vitamin to protect his healthy cells from the methotrexate. A problem with hiccups probably caused by steroids he is receiving has gone away. He remains a little sleepy.

Dr. Lieberman said doctors are trying to minimize future neurological problems. He said tests have shown that patients such as Mr. O'Connor who have just chemotherapy, without radiation, have fewer neurological problems.

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More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.