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Senator John McCain diagnosed with brain cancer

Longtime Republican Sen. John McCain has been diagnosed with brain cancer, his office confirmed Wednesday.

The Arizona senator and former Republican presidential nominee is currently recovering from a July 14 operation to remove a blood clot from above his left eye, which his doctors confirmed had been caused by a “primary brain tumor known as a glioblastoma,” his office said in a statement.

McCain, who is being treated at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, is reviewing further treatment options, including chemotherapy and radiation.

“The Senator’s doctors say he is recovering from his surgery ‘amazingly well’ and his underlying health is excellent,” the statement said.

McCain has repeatedly been treated for skin cancer, having had four melanomas removed: one on his shoulder, in 1993; one on his left arm and one on his left temple, in 2000; and one on his nose, in 2002. The surgeries became a point of contention for detractors questioning his fitness as a candidate in the 2008 presidential election, though several prominent physicians pointed out at the time that the greatest risk of melanoma recurrence is in the “first few years after detection.”

Doctors surveyed by the New York Times this week said his history of melanoma could have prompted the brain scan that led to his most recent diagnosis.

McCain’s daughter, the former political commentator Meghan McCain, also issued a statement saying she and her family are living “with the anxiety about what comes next.”