Local doctor gives insight on Senator McCain’s cancer battle
A somber development for longtime senator John McCain, deciding Friday to end his fight with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.
“It grows in your brain and it’s got tentacles everywhere as it tries to infiltrate every single part of your brain if it could do it,” Dr. Henry Tsai, a medical oncologist with Eisenhower Health, said.
Dr. Tsai has treated patients with this rare type of cancer. He said treatment is difficult.
“The best case scenario is to cut out as much as you can but unfortunately, the natural history of this disease is that even if you cut out everything you think you did, there’s always some microscopic tumor that’s going to flare up and grow elsewhere,” he said.
In a statement, McCain’s family cited the senator’s advanced age and progress of the disease pushing him to make his decision, a decision a local Republican says she respects.
“He’s fought it out as long as he and that this has been a family decision, and it’s better as a family that they decide what to do and that’s what I feel happened,” Joy Miedecke, president of the East Valley Republican Women, said.
Dr. Tsai said the diagnosis and treatment of glioblastoma can be difficult for family members, and especially for the individual going through it.
“They may not be themselves anymore. Their personality may change and they may be sharp in their previous time, but with this disease, they may lose a lot of ability,” he said.
Local Republicans are sending prayers to Senator McCain.
“I didn’t always agree with the man and what he did, but I wish that he has an easy go it from now on until the end,” Miedecke said.
According to Dr. Tsai, if left untreated, a person suffering from glioblastoma may only have either weeks or months left to live depending on their age and health.
