TORONTO — Just hours before he begins aggressive chemotherapy for a rare and difficult-to-beat cancer, a rough-sounding Toronto Mayor Rob Ford released an audio statement from his hospital room Thursday urging people to vote for his brother for mayor.
Ford said he soon would start chemotherapy to treat the cancer that forced him to do what months of scandals over drug and alcohol abuse could not — drop his bid for re-election.
His doctor announced Wednesday that Ford has a malignant liposarcoma.
Ford, who has been hospitalized for more than a week with a tumor in his abdomen, announced Friday that he was pulling out of the Oct. 27 race and his brother Doug, a city councilor, would run in his place.
Ford vowed to beat the cancer and said “Toronto needs Doug Ford as mayor”
“I’m encouraging my brother to jump into this race, wholeheartedly, right now,” said Ford, his voice sounding hoarse in the three-minute statement. “You, the people of Toronto, have been with me since Day One. Now I ask you to throw your support behind Doug.”