GREENVILLE, SC (FOX Carolina) -
U.S. Senator John McCain is known as the Maverick, a fighter, a prisoner of war and a hero. However, now he's facing his toughest battle of all- Glioblastoma, which is a form of brain cancer.
"We talked about five minutes you know- it's going to be a tough way forward, but he says I've been through worst," McCain said.
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham asked for prayers for his close friend.
"This disease has never had a more worthy opponent," Graham said.
Doctors say Glioblastoma is aggressive. It's not curable, but it's treatable.
"Glioblastoma is a tumor that arises from tissues within the brain as opposed to a tumor that has spread to the brain from other places," said Dr. Robert Siegel, the oncology program director with Bon Secours Saint Francis Health System. "Glioblastoma tends to be the more aggressive and tends to grow relatively quickly."
And even though he only knows what's reported about McCain's diagnosis, he says he will need treatment.
"He will undoubtedly need radiation therapy which will extend over a period of weeks," he said.
There's also chemotherapy and other treatments.
"The more high-tech approach is injecting the polio virus," Siegel said.
Glioblastoma is like many other cancers, it's difficult to pinpoint a cause.
"Probably the most controversial potential cause for Glioblastoma has been radio frequency- the cell phones that we all carry in our pockets," he said.
Siegel says he's treating patients right now with Glioblastoma and says the disease affects them all differently.