Give it hell, John: Obama’s words to McCain after cancer diagnosis

FORMER US presidential candidate Senator John McCain has been diagnosed with brain cancer after having a blood clot removed.

Doctors said the Arizona senator, pictured below, has glioblastoma, an aggressive cancer. The 80-year-old Republican, who was beaten to the presidency by Barack Obama in 2008, is considering further treatment. The standard option for the condition is chemotherapy and radiation.

After news of his condition prompted good wishes from across the US, Mr McCain, who was shot down and captured while serving as a naval pilot in Vietnam, went on Twitter yesterday to say: ‘I greatly appreciate the outpouring of support – unfortunately for my sparring partners in Congress, I’ll be back soon, so s stand by!’ Among those offering support w was Mr Obama, who tweeted: ‘John McCain is an American hero and one of the bravest fighters I’ve ever known. C Cancer doesn’t know what it’s up against. G Give it hell, John.’

President Donald Trump has previously clashed with his party colleague but said: ‘Senator John McCain has always been a fighter. Melania and I send our thoughts and prayers.’

Mr McCain has been recuperating at his Arizona home after surgeons removed a blood clot above his left eye. Doctors said the father of three is recovering well from surgery and his underlying health is excellent.

Mr McCain is a long-term survivor of s skin cancer but doctors classified this new cancer as a primary tumour, meaning it is not connected to his previous illness. He was twice thwarted in seeking the presidency. He was beaten to the R Republican nomination in 2000 by G George W Bush and eight years later was overcome by Mr Obama in a landslide.