TORONTO — Former mayor and current City Councillor Rob Ford has hit a setback in his road to recovery from cancer, announcing Wednesday that a new tumour has formed on his bladder.
“Recently, Councillor Ford was experiencing more abdominal pain, and he has spent time undergoing examination and testing by his medical team at Mount Sinai Hospital,” a statement from Ford’s chief of staff Dan Jacobs read.
“It’s now been confirmed that there is a new tumor growing on his bladder. At this time, we are still awaiting testing results to determine if it is related to the previous growths, as well as whether it is malignant.”
Doug Ford told Global News the family is waiting on more information from doctors so they can get a better idea of what treatment options are available.
“He’s been complaining about pains over the last couple of weeks and then finally he went in and ended up getting checked out,” he said.
“So he was just starting to feel a little confident and then bang out of left field this comes along too. So it’s tough right now.”
READ MORE: Tory wishes Rob Ford ‘speedy recovery’ from health setback
Doug Ford said his brother was in “excruciating pain” due to the fact that the tumour puts pressure on the bladder and other areas of his body.
“He wanted to go home so he asked if he could go home to spend times with his kids and his wife and his family and so they let him go home,” he said, adding that Ford may return to the hospital tomorrow for more testing.
“There’s probably a few options; straight operation or chemo to reduce the size of the tumour and then to operate. And as a lot of people know, and millions people have dealt with this and their families, as Rob said chemo is 10 times worse than the operation, especially heavy doses of chemo.”
Doug Ford said the news was “devastating” for the family as it was totally unexpected.
“As soon as you feel that you’re moving forward and Rob was looking good, feeling great and just out of left field this happens so it’s tough,” he said.
“We just appreciate all of the prayers and thoughts. That’s what keeps Rob positive, that’s what keeps the family positive and it’s overwhelming and we’re very, very grateful.”
READ MORE: Doug Ford says Rob Ford has hit a ‘bump in the road’ with cancer recovery
Jacobs said Ford will be undergoing additional treatments to address the new growth, adding that information will be released pending approval from Ford and his family.
“Councillor Ford and his family wish to extend their continued gratitude for the thoughts, prayers, and support that they have received during this difficult time,” Jacobs said.
Toronto Mayor John Tory wished Ford a “speedy recovery” on Wednesday following Doug Ford’s comments, adding that he hopes the Ward 2 councillor will continue down the road to recovery.
In Sept. 2014, Ford was diagnosed with pleomorphic liposarcoma and has since undergone chemotherapy.
In May, the former mayor underwent a 10-hour surgery to remove the cancerous tumor and doctors deemed the procedure a success.
Ford’s health caused him to drop out of the 2014 mayoral race. His brother Doug ran in his place, but lost to Tory.
Ford has been sitting as a councillor for Etobicoke Ward 2 since Oct. 2014.
With files from Simon Ostler
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