Former West Haven Mayor Diagnosed With ‘Ultra-Rare Cancer’

WEST HAVEN, CT — Former West Haven Mayor Ed O’Brien was recently diagnosed with epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE), which he said is an “ultra-rare cancer.”

O’Brien shared the news in a post on Facebook to help spread awareness and raise research funding for EHE.

“There is currently no cure, but the good news is that my prognosis is excellent because EHE is typically very slow moving,” O’Brien wrote in the post on Facebook.

O’Brien, who served two terms as mayor, is participating in a virtual walk to support EHE research and awareness.

O’Brien originally thought he was dealing with a pinched nerve before ultimately being diagnosed with EHE.

“What started suddenly in August 2023 turned into ongoing pain in my chest and side that I could not seem to fix,” O’Brien wrote on his fundraising page for the 2026 EHE Fun Run & Walk. “I tried everything I could think of to get relief, including chiropractic care, physical therapy, and injections, but the pain kept lingering, and the answers never really came.

“Then, after another trip to the emergency room in September, a scan found something earlier tests had missed: a small tumor on my left 10th rib. That was the moment everything changed. Instead of a nerve issue, I was facing a diagnosis of epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, or EHE, an ultra-rare cancer that very few people have ever heard of.

“Like so many people affected by rare cancers, I quickly learned how isolating and uncertain this road can feel. When a disease is this rare, information is limited, awareness is low, and research is often underfunded. That is one of the reasons I decided to speak publicly and turn my experience into action.”

O’Brien, 61, told the New Haven Register that doctors said he’s only the fifth known case globally in which an EHE tumor was found on the ribs.

O’Brien also said that doctors told him that while EHE has no known cure and is resistant to chemotherapy, it is slow-moving and has roughly 80 percent to 90 percent odds of “stabilizing,” but if it doesn’t, the cancer is likely to become very aggressive, according to the Register.

For more information, or to make a donation, visit O’Brien’s fundraising page for the 10th Annual EHE Fun Run & Walk here.

Read the full story at the New Haven Register here.