Cardinal Francis George, facing his third bout with cancer, is being treated for a cellulitis infection in his right foot that will force him to use crutches “for the near future,” Chicago Archdiocese officials said Wednesday.
George received new antibiotics for the infection Tuesday, sources said.
The cardinal has canceled a trip to Bismarck, N.D., later this week because doctors have advised against air travel, according to a statement released by the archdiocese.
George also canceled an appearance at Mundelein Seminary on Wednesday morning, but does plan to attend a dinner hosted by the Catholic Extension Society in Lincolnshire in the afternoon, officials said. His schedule will continue to be lighter.
George was initially diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2006. In August 2012 he learned the disease had returned to his kidney and liver, the archdiocese said. The cancer had been in remission for more than a year when George revealed in March that the disease “is beginning to show signs of new activity” and he was facing a “more aggressive” round of chemotherapy.
In August, the archdiocese disclosed that George was participating in a clinical trial of a new drug to treat his cancer. Doctors have said the trial falls within the category of immunotherapy, or treatments aimed at bolstering the body’s weakened defenses against cancer.
Shortly after introducing his successor, Archbishop Designate Blase Cupich on Saturday, George said he was suffering “new infections constantly” and welcomed someone who could lead the archdiocese full time as he turns his attention toward his health.
“We are in the hands of God and … I’m reconciled to that,” George said. “And we’ll see how that goes.”
