Former Toronto mayor loses fight with cancer

Ward 2 city councillor Rob Ford has died at age 46

Former mayor Rob Ford, pictured above in a photo from 2014 around the time he was diagnosed with cancer, died Tuesday from the disease. The Ward 2 councillor was 46. Rajesh Sammy/Toronto Observer file photo

Former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has died.

The city councillor for Ward 2 Etobicoke, Ford had been receiving chemotherapy for a rare type of cancer since 2014.

His death was announced through a statement by the Ford family shortly after 11 a.m. on Tuesday.

“A dedicated man of the people Councillor Ford spent his life serving the citizens of Toronto,” the family said in the statement.

A dedicated man of the people Councillor Ford spent his life serving the citizens of Toronto.

—Ford family statement

Ford was initially diagnosed in 2014 with pleomorphic lipsarcoma, a rare high grade tumor. It was thought to be removed after his surgery in May 2015. It later returned the following October.

He had just entered palliative care at Mount Sinai Hospital on Monday.

In the statement, the Ford family “asks that you respect their privacy and join them in their grieving and their prayers.”

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Posted: Mar 22 2016 1:49 pm
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