Sen. John McCain has brain cancer, and a tumor was discovered, according to his doctors.
The 80-year-old Republican senator from Arizona was diagnosed with primary glioblastoma, a type of brain tumor, according to the Mayo Clinic, where he’s being treated.
Over the weekend, McCain underwent a surgical procedure to remove a blood clot. Then, doctors discovered the tumor.
“On Friday, July 14, Sen. John McCain underwent a procedure to remove a blood clot from above his left eye at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix. Subsequent tissue pathology revealed that a primary brain tumor known as a glioblastoma was associated with the blood clot,” read a Wednesday statement from the Mayo Clinic posted on the senator’s website. “Scanning done since the procedure (a minimally invasive craniotomy with an eyebrow incision) shows that the tissue of concern was completely resected by imaging criteria.”
It added: “The Senator and his family are reviewing further treatment options with his Mayo Clinic care team. Treatment options may include a combination of chemotherapy and radiation.”
The statement added that McCain and his family appreciate the support he’s received over the past several days.
“He is in good spirits as he continues to recover at home with his family in Arizona. He is grateful to the doctors and staff at Mayo Clinic for their outstanding care, and is confident that any future treatment will be effective,” the statement read.
His daughter, Meghan McCain, released a statement of her own. “The news of my father’s illness has affected every one of us in the McCain Family,” tweeted Meghan McCain on Wednesday. “It won’t surprise you to learn that in all this, the one of us who is most confident and calm is my father.”
According to the American Brain Tumor Association, glioblastoma is a particularly aggressive type of tumor that forms around the tissue of the brain.
McCain’s doctors said that the Republican senator showed no neurological problems before or after the operation, CNN reported.
He’s recovering at his home in Arizona.
