Sen. John McCain Diagnosed With Brain Cancer

Senator John McCain has been diagnosed with a particularly nasty form of brain cancer, it was announced tonight.

Senator John McCain of Arizona, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee known for his independent streak over more than three decades in the Senate, has brain cancer, his office disclosed Wednesday night in a statement from the Mayo Clinic.

The statement said the medical condition was discovered after Mr. McCain, 80, who was re-elected to a sixth term in November, underwent surgery to remove a blood clot above his left eye at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix.

[...]

Dr. Eugene S. Flamm, chairman of neurosurgery at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, said that “a glioblastoma is the most common and most malignant of brain tumors.”

The median survival is about 16 months, he said.

Fox News host Meghan McCain, Senator McCain's daughter, issued a poignant statement tonight:

Statement regarding my father @SenJohnMcCain: pic.twitter.com/SMte9Hkwkq
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) July 20, 2017

We've had plenty of criticisms of Meghan McCain's punditry but tonight we put them aside and wish her and the rest of her family all the best.

Watch the Fox News report on the news below.

Follow @NewsHounds

Follow @NewsHoundEllen

Do you like this post?

Showing 9 reactions

commented 2017-07-20 11:45:05 -0400 · Flag

America is rooting for you, Senator McCain.

Anyone who can survive five years in a North Vietnamese POW camp can kick cancer’s ass!

commented 2017-07-20 11:41:28 -0400 · Flag

From Bemused’s comment:

“I’ve admired McCain since he gave that noble concession speech in 2008. The GOPers went ballistic……”

Especially those RACIST AND TOTALLY CLASSLESS DYED-IN-THE-WOOL REDNECKS WHO BOOED LOUDLY once McCain congratulated then President-elect Obama on the night of November 4, 2008 in his classy concession speech. I STILL REMEMBER that night like it was yesterday — John McCain himself had to chide these TOTALLY REDNECKED SORE LOSERS repeatedly and calm them down so he could finish his speech.

commented 2017-07-20 09:37:05 -0400 · Flag

The comments below are why I am in love with the whole Newshounds pack. There are times when the only civilised reaction is to bury the hatchet.

I’ve admired McCain since he gave that noble concession speech in 2008. The GOPers went ballistic but that was a truly American address. Recently, he joined Jeff Flake in scolding the rabid GOPers who were sending hate mail to his (Flake’s) hijab-wearing opponent for Arizona seat.

commented 2017-07-20 07:08:38 -0400 · Flag

I’m not a fan of John McCain, but there have been a few times that he has shown some human decency. In any case, I don’t like when this happens to ANYONE. I wish him and his family peace, wisdom and courage in the difficult times ahead.

commented 2017-07-20 03:03:31 -0400 · Flag

BTW, if you want a little bit more info about the medical details, McCain apparently authorized his docs to discuss them with CNN’s Sanjay Gupta, a neurosurgeon himself.

commented 2017-07-20 03:01:26 -0400 · Flag

This is the same aggressive brain tumor that took down Teddy Kennedy. He only lasted nine months, but his was discovered when it was much further advanced. McCain’s tumor, the docs said, was able to be completely removed, which isn’t often the case with glioblastoma because it quickly invades adjoining tissue, which makes it effectively inoperable except as a delaying tactic.

McCain’s three bouts with melanoma were all stage 0, which is unusual for such an aggressive cancer, so maybe, maybe his immune system is particularly adept at battling cancer cells.

I have a friend who was killed by an astrocytoma tumor a few years go, which is a very slightly less aggressive form of glioblastoma. He was briefly in complete remission after surgery and chemotherapy and then a lifetime’s dose of radiation to his head all at once, but it surged back with a vengeance a couple of months later.

This is a really pitiless disease, and the treatments that can extend life by maybe a few months are nightmarish. I can only wish with all my heart that McCain can be one of the very, very few who’s able to beat it. Damn.

commented 2017-07-20 02:04:38 -0400 · Flag

Meghan McCain needs to leave the Foxies and take care of her father, and be with him throughout his treatments. He needs her, and she needs him.

Our thoughts and prayers to the McCain Family during this difficult period.

NOTE TO SEN. MCCAIN

You can beat this!

commented 2017-07-20 00:34:13 -0400 · Flag

I wouldn’t bet on this deadly cancer to stop this great man. Few people could say that they have persevered through far worse than this, as Senator McCain has. I hope Senator McCain was watching The Eleventh Hour With Brian Williams this evening. During their touching tribute, at the bottom of the screen the crawl read SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN DIAGNOSED WITH BRIAN CANCER. With The Senators good humor I’m sure he will contact Mr. Williams and say ‘I will handle my Brian Cancer, Brain Williams’.

commented 2017-07-20 00:06:38 -0400 · Flag

My thoughts and prayers for Senator McCain and his family.