Meghan McCain Says Dad John McCain's Brain Cancer "Will Not Make Him Surrender"
"He is my strength, my example, my refuge, my confidante, my teacher, my rock, my hero — my dad," she said.
Senator John McCain has been diagnosed with brain cancer, his office announced in a statement from the Mayo Clinic Wednesday at the request of his family.
The longtime U.S. senator representing Arizona was found to have a brain tumor known as a glioblastoma from subsequent tissue pathology after undergoing a procedure to remove a blood clot above his left eye on July 14. “The Senator and his family are reviewing further treatment options with his Mayo Clinic care team," the statement said. "Treatment options may include a combination of chemotherapy and radiation."
John is now recovering "amazingly well" from his surgery and "his underlying health is excellent," according to his doctors via the Mayo Clinic's statement.
The senator's daughter, Meghan McCain, released a touching statement on Twitter following the news of his cancer diagnosis Wednesday night, asking for support for her family during this difficult time. "The news of my father's illness has affected every one of us in the McCain family. My grandmother, mother, brothers, sister, and I have all endured the shock of the news, and now we live with the anxiety about what comes next," she wrote. "It is an experience familiar to us, given my father's previous battle with cancer [he has a history of skin cancer] — and it is familiar to the countless American families whose loved ones are also stricken with the tragedy of disease and the inevitability of age. If we could ask anything of anyone now, it would be the prayers of those of you who understand this all too well. We would be so grateful for them."
Meghan went on to praise her father's continuous strength in the face of adversity. "It won't surprise you to learn that in all this, the one of us who is most confident and calm is my father. He is the toughest person I know. The cruelest enemy could not break him. The aggressions of political life could not bend him," she said in her statement. "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."
The FOX News host concluded her statement with a heartfelt tribute to her father expressing everything he has meant to her throughout her life. "My love for my father is boundless, and like any daughter I cannot and do not wish to be in a world without him. I have faith that those days remain far away. Yet even in this moment, my fears for him are overwhelmed by one thing above all: gratitude for our years together, and the years still to come," she wrote. "He is a warrior at dusk, one of the greatest Americans of our age, and the worthy heir to his father's and grandfather's name. But to me he is something more. He is my strength, my example, my refuge, my confidante, my teacher, my rock, my hero — my dad."
The senator's office also released the following the statement regarding his health. “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," the statement said. "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.”
President Barack Obama also sent his best wishes to his opponent in the 2008 presidential election through his official Twitter account. "John McCain is an American hero & one of the bravest fighters I've ever known," he tweeted. "Cancer doesn't know what it's up against. Give it hell, John."
President Donald Trump also sent his regards to the senator and his loved ones in a statement from the White House. "Senator John McCain has always been a fighter," the president said in the statement. "Melania and I send our thoughts and prayers to Senator McCain, Cindy, and their entire family. Get well soon."
President Bill Clinton lent his support to the senator on Twitter as well. "As he’s shown his entire life, don’t bet against John McCain," he tweeted. "Best wishes to him for a swift recovery."
