Toronto's scandal-plagued mayor Rob Ford has been admitted to a hospital for a suspected tumor in his abdomen, health officials said. Ford had been complaining of abdominal pains for at least three months and they worsened in the last day, Humber River Hospital said in a statement Wednesday.
"It became unbearable for him," hospital president and CEO Dr. Rueben Devlin said at a Wednesday evening news conference. Devlin said doctors need to determine what type of tumor it is by doing a biopsy. He added the CT scan is "very definitive for the tumor" but a "definitive diagnosis" is still forthcoming.
Ford, 45, was in “good spirits” Wednesday evening, Toronto City Councilor Doug Ford, the mayor’s brother, said at the news conference. He said the mayor “just wants to thank the well-wishers.”
The headline-grabbing politician is in the midst of running for re-election on Oct. 27. Olivia Chow, who is running to replace Ford, tweeted that her "thoughts and hopes" are with Ford and his family.
In late 2013, Ford admitted to smoking crack cocaine — "probably in one of my drunken stupors" — after months of denials. He returned to work in June after a stint in rehab for alcohol and drug abuse.
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