It was supposed to be remission

We got some bad news the other night. I should preface this with some background info.
My boyfriend, John was diagnosed in June 2007 with Lymphoma and underwent chemo for 6 months. He was declared in remission in April 2008 and we were so happy! A few weeks ago, John had a 6 month PET scan and a CT scan to check to see if the cancer had come back or if he was still in remission. Well, the scans showed that the cancer is indeed, back. It showed 2 small spots on his spleen (he had cancer in his lymph nodes near his spleen, as well as other places in his body, but not ON his spleen and the chemo got rid of it). His oncologist wants his spleen removed, and I believe that is the only course of treatment for this cancer. He has an appointment next Thursday, which was supposed to be a good appointment saying he was still in remission. We'll learn more at that appointment. John was hesitant to undergo the surgery because he's afraid of missing work and having to declare bankruptcy. I reminded him the alternative was to get worse and die and I REALLY don't want that!
The other pain in the ass thing is his insurance. He has Tri-care (or as John likes to call it, try to get care) It's retired military insurance. His doctor is at a hospital in my town because he was at my house when he first got sick and I took him to the hospital, but he has to get all his testing and stuff done at a hospital near his house. We're really hoping the insurance company will allow him to get his surgery at my hospital so his doctor can monitor his recovery better.
So we shall see.