Former Boston Mayor Tom Menino Suspends Cancer Treatments, Book Tour

The former mayor said in a statement it's time for him to spend more time with family and friends

Former Boston Mayor Tom Menino has decided to suspend his cancer treatments and book tour for his recently published memoir, he announced Thursday.

In a statement, Menino said he feels it's time for him to be with family and friends as he fights "this terrible disease."

Menino was diagnosed with an advanced cancer a month after leaving office earlier this year.

"I am hopeful and optimistic that one day the talented researchers, doctors and medical professionals in this city will find a cure for this awful disease," Menino said in his statement.

Brigham and Women's Hospital, which has been treating the 71-year-old former mayor, has no comment at this time.

He has been back at Brigham and Women's Hospital for the past week after becoming dehydrated, likely related to cancer treatment, according to his spokesperson Dot Joyce.

She said he's going to stop doing chemo, and when asked how grave his condition is, said, "It could be short, it could be long. We just don't know."

"He knows how to fight back, and he won't quit. He has got a lot to live for," former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn said.

Flynn said he saw Menino just last week.

"He seemed very upbeat, very personable and engaging, so he was his typical Tom Menino," he said.

A tweet from Menino's Twitter account Friday afternoon provided an address for supporters to send cards:

Boston's current mayor and Menino's successor, Marty Walsh, said he's praying for him and reached out to him earlier in the day.

"There's a bond, whether we agree on all the issues, it doesn't matter, there's a bond there. Only 54 people have served as the mayor of the city of Boston. Mayor Menino was 53 and I'm 54, so we're going to continue having these types of conversations," Walsh said.

As for Flynn, that bond with Menino is indelible, both with each other and in their love for Boston.

"[He has] the respect of the people of the city. He'll keep fighting this with every breath in his body," Flynn said.

City Councilor Stephen Murphy, a longtime friend and colleague of Menino, released a statement Friday about the former mayor.

"As Mayor Menino transitions into a new phase of his exemplary life, I celebrate all that he means to this city," he said in the statement. "If you are in public service, Tom Menino is someone to be admired. I've known him since I was 12 years old ... Tom has already left a legacy that will outlive most of us. I wish Tom and his family nothing but the best because he gave Boston his best."

Aside from writing his memoir "Mayor for a New America," Menino is also currently serving as co-director at Boston University's Initiative on Cities.

Menino served as Boston's mayor for 20 years,.

Stay with NECN as this story develops. 

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