Toronto mayor Rob Ford diagnosed with rare form of cancer

Dec 19 2017, 8:07 pm

A tumour in Toronto mayor Rob Ford’s abdomen is cancerous, and the civic leader is slated to begin treatment right away.

Toronto’s Mount Sinai hospital’s Dr. Zane Cohen says Ford’s diagnosis is malignant liposarcoma.

Cohen told the Toronto Star Ford has a “very rare tumour and a very difficult tumour.”

Ford’s tumour is considered aggressive, and large. It is 12 centimetres long and wide. Cohen explains that Ford’s cancer is “also a rare case, comprising only one per cent of all cancers,” notes The Province.

The doctor did not indicate at which stage Ford’s cancer is. “[Cohen] said the cancer, which arises out of the fatty tissue, has not spread to any organs, but he added that a second nodule has been found in the mayor’s left buttock,” reports The Globe and Mail.

Ford is expected to undergo chemotherapy, which will start in the next couple of days.

Cohen says he is “optimistic” about Ford’s treatment, and that the mayor “may be able to work through it,” and that he thinks Ford “will be able to be functional,” however it was not going to be easygoing.

“My brother has been diagnosed with cancer and I can’t begin to share how devastating this has been for Rob and our family,” said Ford’s brother Doug Wednesday in a statement.

With the Toronto mayoral election looming, Doug Ford has already replaced his incumbent brother on the ballot, however he has not begun to campaign.

Featured image: West Annex News/Flickr

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