Former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino Stops Chemotherapy

Former Boston mayor Thomas M. Menino has stopped treatment for advanced cancer, the much-beloved titan of Boston politics said on Wednesday.

Menino’s announcement startled and saddened Bostonians, who have seen the five-term mayor — perhaps still the most recognizable person in Boston’s political scene — carry on with business as usual since he was diagnosed with advanced-stage cancer in Feb., the Boston Globe reports. Menino had left office just a month before the diagnosis.

“While I continue to fight this terrible disease, I feel it is time for me to spend more time with my family, grandkids, and friends,” Menino said in a statement. “Angela [Menino’s wife] and I are grateful for the tremendous outpouring of support and kindness shown to our family and ask that everyone keep us in their thoughts and prayers.”

The 71-year-old also suspended a tour to promote his book, Mayor for a New America.

Menino helmed Boston for two decades as the city’s longest-serving mayor, and he is widely credited with shepherding Boston through tough economic times to become a bright, resurgent city.

“It’s hard to do anything in the public eye, and even this, even this, you do with class,” said one commentator on the statement posted to Menino’s Facebook page.

“Thanks Mr. Mayor,” he said.

[The Boston Globe]