Arizona U.S. Senator John McCain Has an Aggressive Form of Brain Cancer

Arizona U.S. Senator John McCain has been diagnosed with glioblastoma, a serious form of brain cancer.

McCain underwent surgery on July 14 to remove a blood clot above his left eye, and a tissue sample later showed evidence of the "primary brain tumor," according to a statement from his office.

"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," McCain's office reported. "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 Senator’s doctors say he is recovering from his surgery 'amazingly well' and his underlying health is excellent."

The statement continued:

"Senator McCain appreciates the outpouring of support he has received over the last few 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. Further consultations with Senator McCain's Mayo Clinic care team will indicate when he will return to the United States Senate."

Glioblastoma is often associated with a short life expectancy. McCain will turn 81 on August 29.

"With optimal treatment, patients with GBs have a median survival of less than one year," according to an online medical-journal article. "About 2 percent of patients survive three years."

The news brought an immediate rush of support on social media for the longtime senator, who was re-elected to a sixth term in November.

His daughter, Meghan McCain, said on Twitter that the family now lives with "the anxiety of what comes next."

"It won't surprise you to learn that in all this, the one of us who is most confident and calm is my father," she wrote. "He is the toughest person I know. The cruelest enemy could not break him. The aggressions of political life could not bend him. 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."