Rob Ford caught off-guard by news of new tumour he says is likely malignant

A weary and emotional Rob Ford said Thursday he is "99 per cent sure" a newly discovered tumour is malignant.

The former Toronto mayor's medical team at Mount Sinai Hospital discovered a tumour on his bladder after Ford, 46, was hospitalized for several days last week with abdominal pain. 

• Rob Ford cleared to return to work after cancer treatment

• Rob Ford undergoes major cancer surgery at Toronto hospital

"They did a biopsy, and we're still waiting on the results if it's malignant or not," the Etobicoke councillor told reporters during a lengthy interview outside the Toronto hospital Thursday afternoon.

"We're praying that it's benign, but you gotta deal with the realistic part of things, and I'm 99 per cent sure it's malignant," he said. "It's the type of cancer that does spread. I just have to deal with it."

Ford said "the best news is that we only have to do two rounds of chemo." 

"If they only do two rounds and can operate at Christmas, that's my Christmas gift," he said, adding that "if two rounds don't cut it, they'll have to go five rounds."

He said he and his family were caught off guard by the discovery and expressed how hard it was to receive the news from his doctors.

"All I can do is fight, and I'll keep fighting until the day I die," Ford said.

Ford said his wife, Renata, and their two young children, Stephanie and Dougie, are the most important people in his life and thanked Torontonians for supporting his family.

"If I pass before my time, I'd like to ask people to please help Dougie and Stephie and Renata in any way you can," he said.

Several Toronto city councillors tweeted their support for Ford Thursday afternoon.

Ford underwent major cancer surgery in May to remove a large cancerous tumour from his abdomen. He was released from hospital two weeks later.

He was initially diagnosed with liposarcoma — a cancer that grows in fat cells — last fall. The diagnosis forced Ford to drop out of the mayoral race and then undergo chemotherapy and other treatments.