TORONTO - Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has been released from a hospital where he has been undergoing chemotherapy for a rare form of cancer.
A statement from his office says Ford left the city's Mount Sinai Hospital on Tuesday afternoon and has returned home where he is "resting with his family."
The brief statement also says Ford would like to thank the staff who treated him for their "exceptional level of care," and expresses the mayor's gratitude for the support he's received from Toronto residents ever since it was announced that he had a tumour.
Ford has spent the past two weeks in hospital after seeking medical attention for unbearable abdominal pain.
Initial tests revealed he had an abdominal tumour and last Wednesday, doctors diagnosed him with liposarcoma — a type of cancer that arises from fat cells and can attack a variety of soft tissues.
Ford's doctor said the mayor would be undergoing two rounds of chemotherapy before determining the next steps in his treatment.
Ford, whose time in office has been marked by a series of scandals, has dropped his plan to seeks re-election and has been replaced in the race for mayor by his older brother.
Last week, in an audio recording from his hospital bed, a frail-sounding Ford implored Toronto voters to elect his sibling to succeed him.
"With the love and support of my family, my friends, and the people of Toronto — I will beat this," he said in the three-minute statement. "I am determined to face this head on and return strong for my family and for my city."
News of Ford's cancer has made headlines around the world and has drawn expressions of sympathy from politicians of all stripes, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
The diagnosis came just over two months after Ford returned to office from a stint in rehab for substance abuse issues.
The mayor has turned into an international celebrity over the past year due to a series of scandals touched off by reports of a video appearing to show him smoking crack cocaine.
His role as mayor has been largely symbolic since last November, when he was stripped of most of his powers following his admissions of alcohol abuse and drug use during "drunken stupors."
