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Doctor Says Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Has 'Rare ... Difficult' Cancer

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in December 2013.
Chris Young
/
The Canadian Press
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in December 2013.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who made international news after he admitted to smoking crack, has cancer.

That's according to his doctor, a colorectal surgeon, who confirmed the diagnosis during a press conference on Wednesday.

The Toronto Star reports:

"Dr. Zane Cohen, the renowned colorectal surgeon, said Wednesday that Ford has a malignant liposarcoma. He will be treated with chemotherapy, Cohen said.

"Cohen would not say what the chances are of a full recovery. He said he is 'optimistic,' but he also said Ford has a 'very rare tumour and a very difficult tumour.'

"The tumour is 'fairly aggressive,' he said, and has likely been present for two or three years. It is about 12 centimetres by 12 centimetres. The cancer is not in the colon or liver."

As we reported, after a long and sometimes bizarre year, Ford gave up on his re-election bid. His brother Doug will run in his place.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.