A Doctor for Toronto Mayor Rob Ford today announced that the Mayor has a rare and aggressive form of cancer that affects the fat cells. The tumor itself is in Ford’s abdomen but it is not a tumor of one of the abdominal organs. The technical term is pleomorphic liposarcoma.
A Yale University gastrointestinal surgeon not involved in Ford’s treatment estimated his chances of survival at 50%.
This dramatic announcement marks a sad and grim turn to the Ford story, which always mixed tragic elements with heavy doses of the comic and the surreal. These are the sort of dark reversals of fortune which probably haunt all of us, either about our loved ones or ourselves. I would feel remiss not saying that this latest development somehow continues the surreal nature of this man’s public story, larger than life, almost operatic in its improbability and drama, almost difficult to even believe.
Everything else to this point recedes into the background and we can only hope for his recovery and wish him and his family the best.
