Crack-smoking Toronto mayor needs chemotherapy for malignant tumour

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who earned global notoriety for smoking crack cocaine in a "drunken stupor" while in office, will undergo chemotherapy to fight a malignant tumor, his doctor has said.

The diagnosis follows a week of hospitalization and tests which forced him to abandon his re-election campaign and to focus on his failing health.

The 45-year-old mayor only returned to work in June after two months in rehab for drug and alcohol abuse, including the use of crack cocaine.

He was admitted last week to hospital with abdominal pains and a battery of tests showed Ford has malignant liposarcoma, doctor Zane Cohen told a press conference.

Dr Cohen said the rare type of cancer, which arises in soft tissues including fatty tissue, blood vessels, nerves and muscles, is "fairly aggressive."

"But we are treating this very aggressively in order to eradicate the tumor," he added. "And we are optimistic about this tumor."

Over the coming months, Ford will have a cycle of three days of chemotherapy to try to shrink the "relatively large mass," which measures 12 by 12 centimeters, followed by 18 days of rest, Cohen said.

Doctors will then reassess the cancer. Further chemotherapy, radiation or surgery may be required, he warned.