MCCAIN STOPPING TREATMENT FOR BRAIN CANCER

John McCain, the six-term Arizona senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee, has chosen to discontinue medical treatment for his brain cancer, his family said Friday.

In a statement, the family said McCain has surpassed expectations for survival, but “the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict.” The family added, “With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment.”

The senator, who would be 82 next week, has been away from the Capitol since December. If he should resign his seat or die soon, Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey would name a replacement, who would serve out the remainder of McCain’s term — through the 2020 election. The GOP currently holds a bare 51-49 Senate majority.

McCain underwent surgery in July 2017 to remove a blood clot in his brain after being diagnosed with an aggressive tumour called a glioblastoma. It’s the same type of tumour that killed Sen. Edward M. Kennedy at age 77 in 2009.