Toronto mayor Rob Ford has been admitted to hospital with a suspected tumour in his abdomen, health officials said.
Dr Rueben Devlin, from the city’s Humber Regional Hospital, said Mr Ford had been suffering from stomach pains for at least three months and in the last 24 hours “it became unbearable for him”. An examination had resulted in a working diagnosis of a tumour.
Mr Ford, 45, became an international celebrity last year after he admitted using crack in a “drunken stupor”.
He returned to work in June after a rehab stint for drug and alcohol abuse and is running for re-election on October 27. Dr Devlin said medics still needed to determine what type of tumour Mr Ford has by doing a biopsy. He said he could not say how long the mayor would be in the hospital and a “definitive diagnosis” is still to come.
Doug Ford Sr, the mayor’s farther, died of colon cancer in 2006.
Councillor Doug Ford, the mayor’s brother and campaign manager, said Rob was in good spirits.
