COTTSDALE, Ariz. - Senator John S. McCain of Arizona was walking around the hospital and receiving visitors yesterday, one day after undergoing 51/2 hours of surgery to remove two malignant melanomas.
The US senator, who challenged Governor George W. Bush of Texas for the Republican presidential nomination this year, spent an ''uneventful night'' at the Mayo Clinic Hospital following surgery and was experiencing ''surprisingly little discomfort,'' according to a statement issued from his office.
A ''small amount'' of blood was drained from a spot on his left temple where one melanoma, a type of skin cancer, was removed. No more blood has accumulated there, and the wound appeared ''excellent'' yesterday, his office said.
McCain's wife, Cindy, stayed at the hospital overnight.
Senator McCain drank a quart of orange juice this morning before breakfast. He was ''walking in his room'' and in the hallways, taking visits from staff, talking on the phone, and discussing ''usual Senate business,'' his office said.
Doctors expect the senator to remain in the hospital for another one to two days, according to the statement.
On Saturday, doctors removed one melanoma from McCain's temple and a second from his left arm.
Preliminary evidence from tissue taken from one of the senator's lymph nodes showed the cancer had not spread, but doctors said they would not know for sure for several days.
Melanomas are the most deadly form of skin cancer, killing about 7,000 Americans annually. People who have had them are cautioned to watch for lesions that have uneven or irregular borders and contain multiple shades of brown or black.
McCain, who will turn 64 on Aug. 29, also battled skin cancer in 1993.
Following the surgery Saturday, Cindy McCain thanked thousands of well-wishers who had flooded the senator's office with calls of support.
