The prognosis for United States Senator John McCain is not good, according to what he told CBS’ 60 Minutes . In a revealing interview, McCain said his chance of survival is somewhere between 3 and 14 percent.
In July, the Republican Senator underwent surgery to remove a blood clot above his left eye, a procedure that delayed the Senate vote on Obamacare replacement due to his absence. But, a deferred political vote ended up being the least of McCain’s worries, after doctors came back from the surgery to tell him that they found a brain tumor.
The tumor turned out to be a form of glioblastoma, which is the same type of cancer that ended the life of Senator Ted Kennedy in 2009. Even though Kennedy and McCain were political rivals during their careers, McCain said he often thinks about Kennedy and the fact that he continued working after his diagnosis “because he loved the engagement.”
John McCain told the doctors to be straight with him when they broke the cancer news. He said when they told him his survival rate he was ready to fight, and that he had an appreciation for his life.
“So, I just said, ‘I understand. Now we’re going to do what we can, get the best doctors we can find and do the best we can and at the same time celebrate with gratitude a life well lived.”
The Senator from Arizona has had a storied military and political career, including a stint as a Vietnam prisoner of war and the Republican Presidential nominee in 2008.
During the 2016 Presidential campaign, then-candidate Donald Trump said that McCain was not a war hero, and according to McCain, he has never apologized for those remarks. He said that he and Trump are “very different people,” but he is not opposed to talking with the President and working things out.
However, it was McCain who killed Trump’s attempts at repealing Obamacare this past summer by voting against the proposed healthcare bill, and the six-term Senator continues to oppose the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill.
McCain is staying busy despite his diagnosis. On top of his continued work in the Senate and battles with Trump, John McCain also recently completed his first round of chemotherapy.
[Featured Image by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]
