McCain’s public focus is back on work, not cancer
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A cancer diagnosis hasn’t stopped Senator John McCain from blasting President Trump. McCain slammed President Trump’s administration for deciding to halt a CIA training program for moderate Syrian rebels fighting Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
USA TODAY
PHOENIX — After a weekend outdoors near Sedona, about 100 miles north of here and 3,200 feet higher where temperatures are 10 to 15 degrees cooler, Sen. John McCain tweeted articles about problems around the globe and pork-barrel spending in the United States.
This all would have seemed normal for Arizona’s senior senator if not for the context: McCain announced Wednesday that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer, raising questions about his return to work that remained unanswered Monday.Â
If anything, his posts in recent days suggest he’s more interested in continuing the work of Washington than in dwelling on his medical battle.Â
His office had no update on his condition Monday and pointed to the Arizona Republican’s activity on social media.Â
► Monday: Senate won’t say what’s in health care bill — but still plans Tuesday vote
â–º Sunday: Meghan McCain tweets photo of ‘amazing hike with Dad’
â–º Friday: Here’s how Sen. John McCain’s absence will jolt Washington
Over the weekend, McCain’s Twitter account featured a pair of pictures with his daughter, Meghan, and friend Joe Harper. Grant Woods, the former Arizona attorney general, tweeted a picture of a barbecue with the McCains.
By Monday, McCain’s feed included articles about global hot spots. For one about Afghanistan, McCain noted “we still have no strategy.” In another, dealing with the political unrest in Poland, McCain said that country “must honor commitment to democracy” and the rule of law.Â
While McCain continues to project his interest in international affairs and fiscal restraint in Washington, he is not expected back later this week when the Senate is scheduled to take up the Republican health-care bill.
â–º Friday: McCain criticizes Trump’s Syria policy despite cancer diagnosis
â–º Friday: We have the same type of brain cancer. What I know about our futures.
Publicly, McCain has acknowledged the deluge of well-wishes for his recovery and taken a business-as-usual posture. Still, his absence for one of the more consequential events of the Congress this year is a tangible sign of the seriousness of his situation.
Here’s what we know now about McCain’s outlook for treatment and possible return to work:
• McCain’s diagnosis. Glioblastoma is an aggressive type of brain cancer that is difficult to treat, experts say. The tumor spreads fingerlike projections into the brain, so surgery can’t eradicate it.
â–º Thursday: Sen. John McCain has brain tumor, doctors say
â–º Thursday: Sen. John McCain: ‘I’ll be back soon’
• Did he have symptoms? It’s unclear whether McCain displayed any symptoms though immediate speculation revolved around his erratic questions at a June 8 Senate hearing with former FBI director James Comey.Â
Some medical experts doubt the incident is connected because McCain seemed fine after the hearing.
• What glioblastoma is. One of several types of tumors known as glioma start in the cells that form the structure of the brain. Glioma is the most common type of primary brain tumor, meaning tumors that begin and generally stay in the brain.
Glioblastoma is the most malignant form of glioma. Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Beau Biden, the son of former Vice President Joseph Biden, both died of glioblastoma.
â–º Thursday: John McCain’s cancer: What is glioblastoma?
â–º Thursday: Meghan McCain: Cancer will not make my dad surrender.
Kennedy was 77 when he died, 15 months after his diagnosis; Beau Biden was 46 and lived roughly 21 months after his diagnosis.
Michael Berens, deputy director of the Translational Genomics Research Institute who has studied glioblastoma for 30 years, said patients who develop the cancer and undergo surgery, radiation and chemotherapy live an average of 16 to 18 months.
• What’s next. That depends on McCain’s treatment options. He has indicated he and his family are reviewing these with his team at the Mayo Clinic here.
• Not stepping down. McCain said he planned to get back to work soon.
Last week, McCain tweeted, “I greatly appreciate the outpouring of support — unfortunately for my sparring partners in Congress, I’ll be back soon, so stand-by!”
• If he does leave office? If McCain steps down before his term ends in 2022, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey would appoint his replacement.
Ducey would have to appoint a Republican, as McCain is, and that senator would serve until the next general election, which happens every two years in Arizona. Whoever won that election then would serve the remainder of McCain’s term.
Follow Ronald J. Hansen on Twitter:Â @ronaldjhansen
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