Rob Ford's tumour hasn't shrunk after chemotherapy
Two rounds of chemotherapy have failed to shrink the tumour in Rob Ford's abdomen, the Toronto mayor said Friday.
The treatment has "stopped the growth or slowed down the growth" of the tumour, which doctors discovered in September, a downcast Ford told reporters outside his office.
"The bad news is the tumour hasn't gotten smaller — so unfortunately we're back to square one," he added, showing a handful of papers from his doctors.
Ford said he will have to undergo "at least another three to five rounds" of chemotherapy at Mount Sinai hospital.
Ford is also currently battling pneumonia. He said he feels fatigued and sore.
"I'm not feeling too good," Ford said.
The cancer diagnosis forced Ford to withdraw from the mayor's race last month. Instead, he retook the council seat in the ward he represented for many years prior to becoming mayor in 2010, while John Tory was elected mayor.
Ford said he is looking forward to working with Tory and others — the many veterans, and few new faces — on council. He indicated an interest in sitting on certain "big money" committees and said he would continue pushing for policies that defined both his time as mayor and his campaign for re-election, including building subways and privatizing garbage collection on the city's east side.
Ford also touted his brother's political prospects. Doug Ford has expressed an interested in provincial politics since losing the race for mayor, which he took over on his brother's behalf, to Tory.
Doug Ford would have a "very good" chance of being elected as an MPP if he ran in the Ford family's traditional stronghold of Etobicoke, Rob Ford said.
"If he ran somewhere else, I don't know," Ford said. "In another area it might be a challenge."
His brother would also have a "good shot" at the Ontario PC leadership, Rob Ford said. .
Asked how his time as mayor — four years marked by repeated scandals and legal woes — and would be remembered, Ford seemed to cheer up.
"It definitely will be remembered," he said with a laugh. "People are going to remember it they way want to remember it."
