McCain Halts Treatment for Brain Cancer

(CN) — Sen. John McCain has chosen to discontinue medical treatment for brain cancer, the Arizona senator's family announced Friday.

McCain, 81, publicly announced his diagnosis in July 2017 and since then, has undergone various treatments including radiation and chemotherapy. He has been away from the Capitol since December.

“Last summer, Sen. John McCain shared with Americans the news our family already knew: he had been diagnosed with an aggressive glioblastoma and the prognosis was serious,” McCain’s family said Friday.

“In the year since, John has surpassed expectations for his survival. But the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict. With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment.”

According to the American Brain Tumor Association, those with the disease are typically given a 30 percent chance of survival when they pursue intensive treatment.

Last September, McCain appeared in an interview on 60 Minutes and called his prognosis “poor” but said he would “get the best doctors” he could find and “do the best we can.”

In Friday’s statement, the McCain family said they were “immensely grateful for the support and kindness” of the senator’s caregivers.

“And for the continuing outpouring of concern and affection from John’s many friends and associates and the many thousands of people who are keeping him in their prayers. God bless and thank you all,” the statement said.

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