In a July 9, 2014 file photo Toronto Mayor Rob Ford leaves his office at city hall in Toronto to take part in a vote. Health officials Wednesday Sept. 9, 2014, say Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has been admitted to a hospital and is believed to have a tumor. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young, file)
TORONTO — Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s doctor said Thursday that results of a biopsy on the controversial politician’s abdominal tumor won’t be known for a week.
Dr. Zane Cohen, a colorectal surgeon at Mount Sinai hospital, said Ford has a mass in his abdomen and they have to find what it is and how to proceed.
“We’re still in a holding pattern,” he said. “We will not have the results of the biopsy for about a week and until we have that there’s very little I can tell you about what we are going to do.”
The 45-year-old mayor was first hospitalized Wednesday after seeking treatment for “unbearable” abdominal pain. Cohen said doctors conducted the biopsy Thursday and also did a CT-Scan of his chest as well as an ultrasound examination. He said they will also do an MRI. Doctors will then meet to decide if Ford will have to remain hospitalized until the biopsy results come back.
Ford checked into Humber Regional Hospital on Wednesday and a doctor said a CT scan came back “very definitive for the tumor.” Cohen called it a “fair size mass.” The mayor was transferred to Mount Sinai, also in Toronto, earlier in the day.
Ford previously had abdominal surgery to remove a tumor on his appendix. Doug Ford Sr., Ford’s father, died of colon cancer in 2006.
Ford became an international celebrity last year after acknowledging using crack cocaine in a “drunken stupor” following months of denials. He returned to work in June after a rehab stint for drugs and alcohol and is running for re-election on Oct. 27.
Although campaigning has been underway for months, the official deadline for candidates to sign up or withdraw from the race is Friday afternoon. Doug Ford, a city councilor, could step in for his brother, a possibility some have long speculated about. Rob Ford’s name will appear on the ballot if he doesn’t drop out of the race by Friday afternoon.
Ford’s family was not at Thursday’s news conference.
“He is resting comfortably. He has some pain. We are giving him some pain medication for that. He is surrounded by family members,” Cohen said.
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