McCain Declared Cancer-Free

PHOENIX (AP) â€” Sen. John McCain was resting at home after cancer surgery with some good news: The melanoma from his temple and upper arm didn't spread, his doctors said. <br><br>Pathologists completed

Tuesday, August 22nd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PHOENIX (AP) â€” Sen. John McCain was resting at home after cancer surgery with some good news: The melanoma from his temple and upper arm didn't spread, his doctors said.

Pathologists completed the final review of the tissues around the cancers Monday and found no sign the skin cancer had spread, said Todd Harris, a McCain spokesman.

If the cancer had reached one or more of the lymph nodes, treatment would have been more complicated and less likely to cure the cancer, experts had said.

McCain, 63, was released from the Mayo Clinic Hospital and returned to his Phoenix home.

``He's doing great,'' his wife, Cindy, said Tuesday on NBC's ``Today.'' ``He had a wonderful night last night.'' He expects to stay at home for a couple of weeks before returning to Washington, she said.

Doctors found the melanoma after McCain left the Republican National Convention to have biopsies performed at Bethesda Naval Hospital near Washington on Aug. 4.

The former GOP presidential candidate underwent more than five hours of surgery on Saturday to remove the melanoma. He also had a melanoma removed from his shoulder in 1993.

Melanoma is usually caused by exposure to the sun. People with fair skin have a higher risk of skin cancer. McCain spent hours in the harsh Arizona sun campaigning for Congress in 1982 and subsequent years.

McCain's friends have said he is religious about wearing SPF 45 sunblock when outdoors and about seeing his doctor three or four times a year to check for new lesions.

McCain canceled about a dozen campaign events with GOP congressional candidates since learning of the skin cancer diagnosis. Spokeswoman Nancy Ives said McCain hopes to return to campaigning by Labor Day.

Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush said he was ``grateful for the good news.''

``Our prayers have been answered,'' Bush said in a statement released Monday. ``We know that John will now be able to return to a healthy lifestyle marked by service to others.''

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On the Net: American Cancer Society: http://www.cancer.org/