Rob Ford diagnosed with 'rare' cancer in abdomen

The doctor in charge of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's clinical care at Mount Sinai hospital will be giving an update on the mayor's health condition Wednesday evening.

A spokesman for Mount Sinai confirmed Wednesday that Dr. Zane Cohen will be providing an update on the mayor at 5 p.m. The update will come one week after Mr. Ford was initially hospitalized with an abdominal tumour.

Doug Ford, left, and Rob Ford engage in a shouting match with spectators at City Hall's public gallery, Nov. 18, 2013. Reuters

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Doug Ford speaks at a press conference outside his mother's Etobicoke home on Sept 12 2014. After nomination papers for his brother Rob were withdrawn, Doug filed his nomination papers to make his run for the mayor. The Globe and Mail

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Last week, Dr. Cohen said that doctors have conducted a biopsy on the tumour, and that they were awaiting results.

No members of the Ford family are expected to be present at the press conference.

Mr. Ford's stunning announcement last week triggered a series of events that have dramatically altered the Toronto mayoral race. After a nine-month campaign, Mr. Ford has dropped his re-election bid, and will instead be running for his old council seat in Ward 2. His brother and former campaign manager, Doug Ford, will instead be running for the chief magistrate job.

In a brief interview with the Globe on Tuesday, Doug Ford said that he would not officially begin campaigning until after Wednesday's update on his brother's health. Afterwards, he said, 'I'll be out there, I promise you. We've got five weeks and we're going to be going hard. I just want to get over this little hurdle, and we're going full steam ahead right now.'

The other leading mayoral candidates, John Tory and Olivia Chow, are expected to participate in a debate Wednesday evening, shortly after the update on Rob Ford's condition. But on Wednesday morning, Mr. Tory said he was planning on speaking with Ms. Chow about possibly cancelling, or cutting short the debate - calling it 'the right thing to do.'

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