However, one reason brain tumors are so tough to treat is that many drugs cannot efficiently enter the brain to act on the tumor. After a break in that treatment, a subsequent more extensive continuation of chemotherapy might occur. This entails surgery (if possible) to remove as much of the tumor as possible, followed by a regime of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments. Treatment Options for McCain’s Brain Cancer Typeĭespite new treatments for cancerous brain tumors on the horizon, and hopes for better solutions, there has been no significant medical advances beyond the current standard of care. John McCain’s signs were typical he told doctors that at times he felt foggy and experienced intermittent double vision. They can include persistent headaches, blurred vision, memory loss, personality or mood changes, and/or seizures. Symptoms of glioblastoma vary depending on the location of the tumor in the brain. So, cancer cells enter a fairly defenseless and yet vital organ. That inflammatory process does the fighting, but there’s no room in the brain/skull for that inflammation. That’s because other parts of the body rely on a healing immune reaction, triggering inflammation. If foreign bodies enter, there is almost no immune system (T cells) to fight them. The brain is protected by the blood-brain barrier, a thin membrane that surrounds the brain. Beau Biden, the late son of President Joe Biden, died in 2015, two years after being diagnosed with the same brain tumor.īrain cancer such as glioblastoma is especially difficult because of its location. The late acclaimed Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts was diagnosed with a glioblastoma in May 2008 following a seizure and died in August 2009. Glioblastoma strikes up to 10,000 people a year, and most notably those numbers connect John McCain to other national political figures. Thirty years ago, a scant 1 to 2 percent of patients lived longer than two to three years with this cancer. However, while progress is limited, it is still present. Like many other cancers, the exact cause of glioblastoma is unknown.Īccording to the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate for glioblastoma is about 6 percent for patients over age 55, although many patients do not make it past two years. Glioblastomas are very aggressive and tend to form and become evident very quickly. These tumors usually develop in the cerebral hemispheres of the brain, but can also be located anywhere else in the brain or spinal cord. Glioblastomas, which are made up of astrocytes, star-shaped cells in the brain and spinal cord, are generally highly malignant. The Cause of John McCain’s Death: About Glioblastomas He was surrounded by his wife and family, who had reported the day before that he had decided to end treatment. John McCain died at age 81 on August 25, 2018, just over a year after his first diagnosis. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a tumor that originates in the brain, not as the result of other cancers. He was diligent about his skin check-ups every four months following his melanoma diagnosis.ĭespite later developing a brain tumor, there is likely no correlation of his prior melanomas to his brain cancer. He previously had three other melanomas all four were found at stage zero. McCain’s last bout of melanoma was in 2000. It was later determined that it was associated with glioblastoma. The clot was removed by doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, where McCain received treatment. John McCain’s brain tumor was diagnosed in mid-July 2017 when a blood clot above McCain’s left eye was discovered during a routine physical exam. John McCain’s Brain Cancer: Glioblastoma Tumor It was only one day after it was announced that the senator had decided to discontinue treatment. McCain died the next year, in 2018, after a battle with this highly malignant brain tumor. John McCain, who has served in the Senate for 30 years representing Arizona and a two-time presidential candidate, received a diagnosis of glioblastoma, a lethal form of brain cancer. On the day the news broke, it led all media reports, including the front page of The New York Times. Posted at 12:00h in Brain Tumors by Advanced Neurosurgery Associates
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