WASHINGTON, D.C.– Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) has been diagnosed with primary glioblastoma, a type of brain tumor, according to Mayo Clinic doctors directly involved in the senator’s treatment.
The office for the 80-year-old former Republican nominee for president released a statement from the Mayo Clinic Wednesday night, announcing that, after undergoing a procedure to remove a blood clot from above his left eye last Friday, “Subsequent tissue pathology revealed that a brain tumor known as glioblastoma was associated with the blood clot.”
A pathologist was in the operating room during the procedure, a minimally invasive craniotomy with an eyebrow incision, his doctor says, adding that the surgery lasted three to four hours. The Senator showed no neurological problems before or after the operation, said his doctors.
Gliobastoma is a particularly aggressive tumor that forms in the tissue of the brain and spinal cord, according to the American Brain Tumor Association. A 2009 study reported that almost 10% of patients with glioblastoma may live five years or longer.
The statement ended, “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.”
McCain is now recovering at his Arizona home. He and his family are considering treatment options.
Doctors discovered the clot during a routine physical exam last week. They said he is very diligent about coming in for scheduled exams and is seen every four months due to his history of skin cancer.
The tumor is the same type Sen. Ted Kennedy had.
