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BREAKING: Senator John McCain Has Sadly Died at Age 81 After Battling Brain Cancer
Rest in peace, John McCain. The Arizona Senator and former Republican presidential candidate sadly passed away at age 81 on Saturday, Aug. 25 after battling brain cancer, his family confirmed. “Senator John Sidney McCain III died at 4:28 p.m. on Aug. 25, 2018. With the Senator when he passed were his wife Cindy [McCain] and their family. At his death, he had served the United States of America faithfully for sixty years,” John’s office said in a statement.
Following John’s passing, his wife, Cindy, took to Twitter to remember her beloved husband. “My heart is broken. I am so lucky to have lived the adventure of loving this incredible man for 38 years. He passed the way he lived, on his own terms, surrounded by the people he loved, in the the place he loved best,” she wrote.
John is survived by Cindy and his five children: Sidney McCain, 51, Meghan McCain, 33, John Sidney McCain IV, 32, James McCain, 30, and Bridget McCain, 27. Meghan also took to social media on Aug. 25 to pay tribute to her dad after his death.
“My father, United States Senator John Sidney McCain III, departed this life today. I was with my father at his end, as he was with me at my beginning. In the 33 years we shared together, he raised me, taught me, corrected me, comforted me, encouraged me, and supported me in all things. He loved me, and I loved him. He taught me how to live. His love and his care, ever present, always unfailing, took me from a girl to a woman — and he showed me what it is to be a man,” she wrote on Twitter.
“All that I am is thanks to him. Now that he is gone, the task of my lifetime is to live up to his example, his expectations, and his love. My father’s passing comes with sorrow and grief for me, for my mother, for my brothers, and for my sisters. He was a great fire who burned bright, and we lived in his light and warmth for so very long,” Meghan continued. “We know that his flame lives on, in each of us. The days and years to come will not be the same without my dad — but they will be good days, filled with life and love, because of the example he lived for us.”
“Your prayers, for his soul and for our family, are sincerely appreciated. My father is gone, and I miss him as only an adoring daughter can. But in this loss, and in this sorrow, I take comfort in this: John McCain, hero of the republic and to his little girl, wakes today to something more glorious than anything on this earth. Today the warrior enters his true and eternal life, greeted by those who have gone before him, rising to meet the Author of All Things: ‘The dream is ended: this is the morning,'” she concluded.
Just one day before John’s death, it was announced that the politician had chosen to discontinue medical treatment for his brain cancer. “Last summer, Senator John McCain shared with Americans the news our family already knew: he had been diagnosed with an aggressive glioblastoma, and the prognosis was serious,” the message from the McCain family began on Friday, Aug. 24.
“In the year since, John has surpassed expectations for his survival. But the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict. With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment,” the statement continued. “Our family is immensely grateful for the support and kindness of all his caregivers over the last year, and for the continuing outpouring of conern and affection from John’s many friends and associates, and the many thousands of people who are keeping him in their prayers. God bless and thank you all.”
John was first diagnosed with brain cancer in July 2017. During a fall 2017 interview with CBS’ 20/20, the father-of-five opened up about his diagonisis. “They said that the prognosis is very, very serious. Some say three percent, some say 14 percent. You know, it’s — it’s a very poor prognosis. So I just said, ‘I understand. Now we’re going to do what we can, get the best doctors we can find and do the best we can.’ And at the same time celebrate with gratitude a life well lived,” John said last year.
Our thoughts are with the McCain family during this difficult time.
