Health Highlights: Sept. 11, 2017

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

John McCain Optimistic in Battle Against Brain Cancer

As he fights brain cancer, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, says his test results so far have been “excellent” and that his prognosis is “pretty good.”

During his first interview since being diagnosed with an aggressive type of brain cancer called glioblastoma, McCain said the illness has been tough on his family but added that he is optimistic, CBS News/Associated Press reported.

The 81-year-old six-term senator said he has “faced other challenges” and is “very confident about getting through this as well.”

McCain, who will have an MRI on Monday, has completed his first round of radiation and chemotherapy and spent most of the August recess from Congress at home with his family. He returned for work in the Senate late last week, CBS News/AP reported.

Daughter Meghan McCain tweeted regular updates of her father’s recovery, including photos of the two on mountain hikes at the senator’s Arizona home.

In July, McCain played a key role in a Senate vote that ended a Republican effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.