Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 20

Tulsi Gabbard Says Husband Is Cancer-Free After 8-Hour Surgery for Rare Bone Tumor

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 20

Tulsi Gabbard Says Husband Is Cancer-Free After 8-Hour Surgery for Rare Bone Tumor

Q: Despite removing all visible cancer, what hidden danger makes Abraham Williams's rare spinal tumor a lifelong threat?

The lifelong danger is recurrence from microscopic disease that surgery cannot always see or remove. Even when doctors remove all visible sacral chordoma, tiny residual tumor cells can remain in nearby tissue. That is why chordoma is treated as a long-term threat: it is often slow-growing but locally aggressive, and it has a well-documented tendency to come back years later. The additional medical material repeatedly notes that recurrence is a common concern in chordoma patients and that these tumors have a high rate of local recurrence. That hidden risk is especially important with sacral and spinal chordomas because they grow close to critical nerves, bone, and other structures, making truly complete removal difficult even after a major operation. Experts also note that chordomas can recur after gross total resection and may, over time, also spread in some patients. This is why Williams will need frequent MRI scans and long-term surveillance. In chordoma care, follow-up is not routine formality; it is central to detecting microscopic residual disease or a delayed regrowth as early as possible.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 20

Nearly three months after surgery, Tulsi Gabbard said husband Abraham Williams is cancer-free after doctors removed all cancerous bone and tissue from a sacral chordoma, a one-in-a-million tumor.
An X video detailed an almost eight-hour operation and a difficult early recovery, with Williams walking despite vomiting, avoiding narcotic pain medication and now starting a rigorous physical therapy program.
Gabbard said the battle is not over because Williams will need frequent MRIs to monitor for any recurrence in the sacrum or elsewhere in his body.
The update follows Gabbard's May resignation from the Trump administration and her end-of-June departure as director of national intelligence to support her husband's cancer treatment.