Senator John McCain has decided to discontinue medical treatment in his battle with brain cancer, his family said in a statement yesterday. The Arizona Republican senator’s family said McCain has “surpassed expectations for survival,” but the “progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict.” McCain, 81, was diagnosed with glioblastoma more than a year ago.

“Last summer, Senator John McCain shared with Americans the news our family already knew: he had been diagnosed with an aggressive glioblastoma, and the prognosis was serious,” McCain’s family said in a statement. “In the year since, John has surpassed expectations for his survival.”

“But the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict,” the family statement continued. “With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment. Our family is immensely grateful for the support and kindness of all his caregivers over the last year, and for the continuing outpouring of concern and affection from John’s many friends and associates, and the many thousands of people who are keeping him in their prayers. God bless and thank you all.”

McCain, a war hero, was first elected to the Senate in 1986.

McCain’s diagnosis was first announced in July 2017. His wife, Cindy, tweeted about her love for her husband of 38 years and her appreciation for everyone who has come alongside them in the last year.