Veteran US senator John McCain diagnosed with brain cancer
80-year-old veteran Republican Senator John McCain has been diagnosed with brain cancer, his office has revealed. McCain is reviewing treatment options, which could include chemotherapy and radiation. The tumour was detected last week during a surgery to remove a blood clot from just above his left eye. His doctors said he's recovering very well from his surgery.
Who is John McCain?
McCain is a six-term senator and the 2008 Republican presidential candidate. He was a US Navy pilot, shot down over Vietnam and held for over five years as a prisoner of war. McCain has a reputation for being a tough, independent-minded maverick of a senator and a senior authority in national security issues. He has forcefully argued in favor of US' military might.
McCain's diagnoses
McCain's doctors said tissue analysis revealed that he's suffering from glioblastoma, a particularly aggressive brain tumour. The tumour's frequency increases with age and affects more men than women.
McCain's family "shocked" over cancer news
McCain's daughter Meghan, 32, said his family reacted with "shock" over the news. She tweeted: "the one of us who is most confident and calm is my father." "So he is meeting this challenge as he has every other. Cancer may afflict him in many ways: but it will not make him surrender. Nothing ever has."
Trump calls McCain a fighter, wishes him "get well soon"
US President Donald Trump, who previously criticized McCain, said that the McCain has "always been a fighter" and wished him: "Get well soon." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said McCain tweeted: "He has never shied from a fight, and I know that he will face this challenge with the same extraordinary courage that has characterized his life," he said on Twitter.
Obama tells "fighter" McCain to 'give cancer hell'
Former US President Barack Obama, who ran against McCain for president in 2008, tweeted: "John McCain is an American hero and one of the bravest fighters I've ever known. Cancer doesn't know what it's up against. Give it hell, John."
