U.S. Senator McCain diagnosed with aggressive brain cancer
WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - U.S. Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee known for political independence during more than three decades in the Senate, has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer, his office said yetserday.
The 80-year-old lawmaker and former Navy pilot, who was re-elected to a sixth Senate term in November, has been recovering at home in Arizona since undergoing surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix last Friday to remove a blood clot from above his left eye.
Tissue analysis since that procedure revealed that a brain tumor known as a glioblastoma was associated with the clot, his office said.
Glioblastoma is considered a grade IV tumor, the most malignant of gliomas. It can be very aggressive and spread into other parts of the brain quickly, according to the MD Anderson Cancer Center.
McCain’s doctors said he was recovering from his surgery “amazingly well” and that his underlying health was excellent.
His treatment options include a combination of chemotherapy and radiation, his office said.
“The news of my father’s illness has affected every one of us in the McCain family,” McCain’s daughter Meghan said in a statement on Twitter. “My grandmother, mother, brothers, sister, and I have all endured the shock of the news, and now we live with the anxiety about what comes next.”