Meghan McCain is ‘optimistic’ for summer return by father
Mar 13, 2018, 5:24 PM | Updated: 8:42 pm
FILE - In this Oct. 30, 2008 file photo, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., accompanied by his daughter Meghan McCain, waves to supporters as he enters a campaign rally in Defiance, Ohio. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)
(AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)
PHOENIX – Meghan McCain said Tuesday that her father, Sen. John McCain, was doing well as he continues to undergo chemotherapy treatment for brain cancer in Arizona.
“He’s good, he’s getting a lot of physical therapy and treatment,” McCain told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Mac & Gaydos.
“As everyone knows especially with this cancer, you have to take it scan by scan but he is doing really good, much better than I think people anticipated.”
Sen. McCain was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer, last summer.
The tumor was removed, but in November doctors discovered a second tumor in the same place. The discovery came just weeks after McCain tore his Achilles tendon.
The senator returned home in December after he was diagnosed with a viral infection, and has remained at his family’s ranch in Sedona to undergo chemotherapy and physical therapy.
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Once diagnosed, the typical survival period for glioblastoma is 12 to 15 months, though a small percentage live longer than five years. But according to his daughter, the 81-year-old has made strides in his recovery.
“Anyone who has loved ones or has gone through it knows how horrific chemo is and he’s working through the side effects of it,” she said. “He’s doing very well and I feel very lucky that he is doing so well.”
McCain originally expected to return to Senate in January, but was unable to do so.
As he continues to undergo treatment, his daughter said there was no determined timetable for his return to Washington.
But when asked, she said she was optimistic about his return happening as soon as the upcoming summer.
“I wish I had an exact date but I just don’t,” she said. “I am very cautiously optimistic about the summer, yes.”
Rumors surfaced online Thursday that the senator was prepared to step down from Senate, but his wife, Cindy McCain, quickly refuted the report on her Twitter page.
“Contrary to popular belief [John McCain] is doing fine and has no intention of resigning,” she tweeted, adding the hashtag “crackpots.”
The rumor had been spread by two Twitter accounts that did not link to any articles or reputable news sources.
A website called True Pundit also reported the rumor, though the site was labeled as “simply not trustworthy” by MediaBiasFactCheck.com.
