Toronto Mayor Rob Ford hospitalized with abdominal tumor

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was hospitalized on Wednesday with an abdominal tumor.

Ford went to the hospital for abdominal pains that he said had been troubling him for the past three months, but which became especially severe this morning, The Toronto Star reports. At a press conference, the hospital's CEO, Dr. Rueben Devlin, said that doctors are still working on a definitive diagnosis.

Also at the press conference, Ford's brother and city councilman Doug Ford refused to speculate on what effect this might have on Rob Ford's campaign for re-election. The deadline for Rob Ford to withdraw from the race, and potentially be replaced on the ballot, is Friday at 2 p.m. If such a decision were to be made, Doug Ford himself has often been reported as a possible replacement candidate for his brother.

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Their late father and political mentor, Doug Ford Sr., died in 2006 from colon cancer. Rob Ford himself also had a tumor removed from his appendix in 2009.

The scandal-plagued mayor has been a serious underdog in his campaign for a second term. The election will be held on Oct. 27. Ford's main opponents, John Tory and Olivia Chow, have both offered their best wishes for him at this time.