Rob Ford undergoes cancer surgery on Monday
Councillor (open Rob Ford's policard)Rob Ford (open Rob Ford's policard) undergoes potentially life-saving cancer surgery Monday.
Toronto’s former mayor has said the surgery to remove a malignant tumour from his abdomen could last 10 hours.
The operation at Mount Sinai hospital is expected to start early in the morning and will be conducted by four surgeons led by Dr. Carol Swallow, Ford’s office said in an email.
If all goes well, Ford, 45, will be in hospital for another two weeks, then have four months of recovery at home.
Ford said in an interview with Conservative pundit Ezra Levant: “I got a big operation on Monday and then I want to come back and run against our big-spending mayor,” John Tory (open John Tory's policard).
Since being diagnosed last September with the rare and aggressive pleomorphic liposarcoma, Ford has undergone five rounds of chemotherapy and 27 rounds of radiation that he says shrank the tumour from 15 centimetres to about five centimetres
“They have to get the cancer and hopefully they get it all and take it from there. It’s all in the good Lord’s hands,” he told Levant.
Ford’s office said in the email: “Councillor Ford has stated that he is looking to return to work at city hall in September.”
On Saturday, Ford, his brother Doug and mother, Diane, spoke with a reporter from CP24.
“And you know, we’re hoping for the best. I know we’ll be. Rob is strong. He’s probably stronger than all of us put together. He’s the one, they all say I’m the glue in the family, but I think he is right now. He’s holding us all together and yeah — very optimistic,” Diane said.
Doug Ford, the former Ward 2 councillor who replaced his brother in last fall’s mayoral race, coming second to Tory, recently told the Star that he will take over some of his brother’s duties during his convalescence.
