Murder victim 'a nice guy'

Cancer strikes Layton again; New battle with disease puts NDP in limbo

Gaunt with weight loss, his voice strained, Jack Layton revealed to the nation Monday that he is fighting a new cancer, though he didn't specify just what he's up against.
The man who rebuilt the federal New Democratic Party and thrust it into official Opposition status for the first time in Canadian history with a stunning showing in the May 2 federal election is stepping aside, albeit temporarily, to take care of his health, he told a news conference in Toronto with his wife, Olivia Chow, at his side.
The new form of cancer has left him thin, frail and raspy-voiced and his party in a state of flux.
Once called the Energizer Bunny, Layton looked far older than his 61 years when he arrived at the surprise news conference to announce he had learned last week that the disease that first attacked his prostate more than a year ago had struck again.
Ever the optimist, Layton vowed to be back in time for the fall session of Parliament which begins Sept. 19.
"I'm going to fight cancer now so I can be back to fight for families when Parliament resumes," he said.
"If I have tried to bring anything to federal politics, it is the idea that hope and optimism should be at their heart."
Just as he remains optimistic Canada could do better for its citizens, the economy, world peace and the environment, Layton said he's also "hopeful and optimistic" about the personal battle that lies before him and expressed faith that his party would weather the storm and be back in four years time to "replace the Conservative government."
In the meantime, he said the NDP would convene to select an interim leader. While many saw deputy leader Thomas Mulcair as the obvious choice, Layton recommended the party choose newly elected Quebec MP and former Public Service Alliance of Canada president Nycole Turmel.
"Ms. Turmel enjoys unanimous support as the national chair of our parliamentary caucus," he said.
"She is an experienced national leader in both official languages and she will do an excellent job as our national interim leader."
News of Layton's ill health had generated an outpouring of support on Facebook, Twitter and across party lines on Parliament Hill. In a statement issued shortly after the announcement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was "deeply saddened" to hear his opponent is stepping down temporarily for health reasons.
"I salute the courage Mr. Layton continues to show in his fight against cancer, a fight that more and more Canadians are winning. We are all heartened by Jack's strength and tireless determination, which with Mr. Layton will never be in short supply," he said.
"On behalf of Laureen and myself, and on behalf of our entire Conservative caucus, I would like to offer our heartfelt support to Jack, Olivia and their family. Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time."
Liberal leader Bob Rae offered similar words of support, calling Layton a "resilient man who does not give up a fight.
"During the last election, he showed an incredible courage in the face of health challenges," he said. "I hope that taking a break from politics will give him the time and energy he needs to make a full recovery and continue his contributions to public life."

Green party leader Elizabeth May wished Layton well and expressed support for Turmel as interim leader.
"Her capable leadership will allow Jack to put his focus on his health so that he can then re-join us in Parliament," she said.
It's rare, but not impossible, for someone diagnosed with one cancer to develop a second cancer unrelated in any way to the first, said Dr. Bill Orovan, professor and chair of the department of surgery at McMaster University's Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine in Hamilton.
The stiffness and pain that Layton said he began suffering in the days before the House of Commons rose for the summer break suggests "musculoskeletal involvement," Orovan said.
"The common sites for metastases of prostate cancer are, No. 1, regional lymph nodes and, No. 2 bones"- particularly flat bones such as the ribs, pelvis and skull.
"He's saying 'new' but it might just be a new location," Orovan said.
Layton has been battling prostate cancer for more than a year. Weeks before the writ dropped prompting an election last spring, he underwent surgery for a broken hip. He's been walking with a forearm crutch or cane ever since.
"My battle against prostate cancer, as it turns out from these tests, is going very well," Layton said. He said his PSA levels remain "very, very low." PSA, or prostate-specific antigen, is a protein produced by the prostate gland that increases when cancer is present But Layton said he has a new, "nonprostate cancer" that will require further treatment.
On the advice of his doctors, "I'm going to focus on treatment and recovery,"he said.
Officials with Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, where Layton has been undergoing treatment for prostate cancer since his diagnosis in February 2010, said in a statement that "new tumours were discovered which appear to be unrelated to the original cancer and Mr. Layton is now being treated for this cancer."
The hospital's suggestion that Layton has more than one tumour is "strange," McMaster's Orovan said, because when cancer spreads, it is often "multi-focal," meaning in different sites.
Layton said his PSA is nearly undetectable. "If it had been undetectable, as it should be after treatment, that would be one thing," Orovan said.
"But he didn't say that, so one wonders if this may in fact be a new manifestation of the same cancer, but not in the prostate."
Orovan said Layton may have had more advanced prostate cancer because he chose radiation over surgery. For someone of his age, "generally speaking surgical removal would be the treatment of choice."
NDP officials had been uncharacteristically mum on the subject of the news conference, but rumours quickly began circulating that it could have something to do with Layton's health.
Unusually sedate during his most recent public appearance in Ottawa - a garden party for media at Stornoway, the home of the official Opposition leader - there was speculation that something wasn't quite right.
Looking pale and gaunt, there was much concern initially about his ability to handle the physical demands of a five-week federal election campaign.