U.S. Senator John McCain has been diagnosed with brain cancer, the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix said Wednesday.

The tumor was discovered after the senior Arizona senator underwent a minor procedure last week to remove a blood clot from above his left eye.

“Subsequent tissue pathology revealed that a primary brain tumor known as a glioblastoma was associated with the blood clot,” the hospital said.

“The senator’s doctors say he is recovering from his surgery ‘amazingly well’ and his underlying health is excellent,” a statement from McCain’s office said.

Glioblastoma is a particularly aggressive tumor that forms in the tissue of the brain and spinal cord, according to the American Brain Tumor Association.

McCain, a Vietnam veteran and former prisoner of war, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986. He was the Republican Party presidential nominee in 2008, losing to Barack Obama.

The cancer is the same type as the one that killed Senator Ted Kennedy in 2009.
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