Boston's longest-serving mayor has been diagnosed with cancer

Only a few months removed from office, former Boston mayor Thomas Menino has been diagnosed with an advanced form of cancer, according to The Boston Globe. Doctors have so far been unable to determine the source of the cancer, which has spread to his lymph nodes and liver.

The 71-year-old Menino served as Boston's charismatic, if often literally misunderstood, mayor for two decades. During his record tenure, the mayor oversaw a concerted redevelopment of the city's neglected waterfront area, implemented vast new bike-friendly infrastructure, and played host to the 2004 Democratic National Convention. But with his health failing in recent years — he was hospitalized for two months in 2012 after contracting a serious respiratory infection — he opted not to run for a sixth term last November.

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