At Mount Sinai Hospital early this afternoon Mayor Rob Ford’s older brother Doug walked past waiting reporters calling it “tough day.”
Then, just after 5 p.m., Dr. Zane Cohen gave the diagnosis for Rob Ford Toronto has waited a week to hear – pleomorphic liposarcoma. He explained that liposarcoma is an extremely rare cancer and the pleomorphic liposarcoma is the rarest of the liposarcomas and can be an aggressive cancer. Dr. Cohen outlined the cycle of chemotherapy treatment that will begin within the next two days. This first round of treatment will take about 36 days. This is a daily election note and I’ll leave the medical reporting to others but we do now know that Rob Ford will be finishing his round of treatment just as Toronto goes to the polls to vote in the municipal elections on Oct. 27.
The other two leading candidates for mayor of Toronto, Olivia Chow and John Tory, recognized the challenge of the day for the Ford family and stepped back from campaign mode. A scheduled debate during the noon hour was toned down and became a question and answer session. Even before that session began, the two candidates talked with each other directly about how to proceed with the day. It wasn’t long before everyone agreed that an evening debate should be cancelled.
After the medical update by Dr. Cohen, both Chow and Tory told reporters that they hoped for the best for Rob Ford and wished him a complete recovery as quickly as possible. A statement from Doug Ford recognized the thoughts and prayers of Torontonians saying, “Rob has always been so strong for all of us and now I ask us all to be strong for him. Your kind words and well wishes mean everything to him right now. Rob will beat this. On behalf of Rob, his wife Renata, their children, and the entire Ford family, thank you all so much for your continued support and prayers.”
There is one big question hanging over the mayoral campaign now: when will the Doug Ford campaign begin and what shape will it take? That will set the tone for the last five weeks. Wednesday the Doug Ford for mayor web page hit the Internet, votedougford.ca is now up and almost running. It asks viewers to “Please check back soon for our official site launch.”
