As It Is

Senator John McCain Decides to End Cancer Treatment

Sen. John McCain speaks at a rally in support of Republican Sen. Thad Cochran at the Mississippi War Memorial in Jackson, Miss., June 23, 2014.

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Senator John McCain Decides to End Cancer Treatment


American Senator John McCain has chosen to discontinue his medical treatment for brain cancer.

The family of the Republican Party's 2008 presidential nominee and former prisoner of war announced the decision Friday. They said “With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment.”

His wife Cindy posted a message on Twitter: “I love my husband with all of my heart. God bless everyone who has cared for my husband along this journey.”

In July 2017, doctors found the cancerous growth and operated on McCain. Two weeks later, McCain returned to the Senate floor. He cast the deciding vote against a Republican measure to end the Affordable Care Act, or ObamaCare.

Republican President Donald Trump criticized that decision. He and McCain have had long-standing disagreements. During his campaign, Trump also questioned the senator’s public image as a war hero, saying of McCain’s past, “I like people who weren’t captured.”

McCain flew for the navy. His plane was shot down during the war in Vietnam. He was imprisoned, kept in isolation, and tortured by the North Vietnamese. He refused to give the North Vietnamese any military information. McCain was finally released after the cease-fire along with other American prisoners of war on March 14, 1973.

Lt. Commander John S. McCain III, a POW for over five years, waves to well wishers March 18, 1973 after arriving at Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida. (AP Photo)

Entering politics

McCain retired from the Navy. He has served in Congress representing Arizona since 1982. He has been absent because of his medical condition since December.

The 81-year-old McCain has seven children, four with his wife Cindy Hensley, and three from his first marriage to Carol Shepp.

After the announcement Friday, former Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman said, “becoming John McCain’s friend has been one of the great blessings of my life. Today I am praying for him and his family.”

I’m Bryan Lynn.

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Words in This Story

journey – n. the act of traveling from one place to another

isolation – n. the state of being separate from other people, places, or things