John McCain Chooses to End Brain Cancer Treatment

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will cease receiving medical treatment for Glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain cancer, according to a statement issued Friday by the McCain family.

“Last summer, Senator John McCain shared with Americans the news our family already knew: He had been diagnosed with an aggressive glioblastoma, and the prognosis was serious,” the announcement reads. “In the year since, John has surpassed expectations for his survival. But the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict,” the family said in a statement. “With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment.”

The longtime Republican lawmaker, who has remained away from Capitol Hill since December, began medical treatment for this cancer in July of 2017. “Mr. McCain’s family has gathered in Arizona, and people close to him say his death is imminent,” a source told the New York Times.

McCain has been one of President Donald Trump’s most vocal Republican critics, given Trump’s infamous campaign-trail insult of his Vietnam War captivity. The senator wrote in his book Restless Wave that today’s GOP is on the wrong side of the immigration debate. “Right now, Republicans are on the wrong side of that progress,” he wrote. “And if we want to retain our competitiveness in the fastest-growing communities in the country we’ll stop letting the zealots drive the debate, and fix the problems that [give] them their soapbox.”

McCain, who has said America-First conservatives make up a mere sliver of the Party, also wrote the faction must be “confronted before their noxious views spread further and damage for generations the reputation of the Republican Party.”

“They’re still a small fraction in the Republican Party. But they’re the ones getting all the attention right now. They need to be confronted, not ignored or winked at or quietly dismissed as kooks,” the former presidential candidate wrote. “They need to be confronted before their noxious views spread further and damage for generations the reputation of the Republican Party.”

McCain infamously voted twice to protect the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare. Last July, he helped defeat a “skinny” repeal bill 49 to 51 in a dramatic, late-night vote. McCain then went on to vote against the Graham-Cassidy Obamacare repeal bill in September.

The ailing Senator’s daughter, Meghan McCain, thanked supporters for their “love and generosity,” over the course of the year. “My family is deeply appreciative of all the love and generosity you have shown us during this past year McCain tweeted. Thank you for all your continued support and prayers. We could not have made it this far without you – you’ve given us strength to carry on.”