Venezuela's Chavez says his cancer is likely back
By FABIOLA SANCHEZ
Associated Press
CARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chavez has raised serious doubts
about whether he'll have the stamina for a successful re-election bid,
revealing that he needs to return to Cuba to have a lesion removed that
is probably malignant.
Chavez was meeting with top aides on Wednesday to plan for his absence
while expressions of support poured in from his allies around the
region. Venezuela's foreign ministry said Chavez had received messages
of concern from Presidents Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, Francisco Mujica
of Uruguay, Evo Morales of Bolivia and Cristina Fernandez of Argentina.
Chavez told Venezuelans on Tuesday that doctors in Cuba had over the
weekend found a two-centimeter (less than an inch) lesion is in the same
place where they removed a cancerous tumor last year.
The socialist president, who hopes to extend his 13 years in power with
another six-year term in the Oct. 7 elections, said he will likely need
radiation therapy.
That will most likely mean being incapacitated in the coming weeks,
though Chavez did not mention who might replace him during a temporary
absence.
"I'm not going to be able to continue with the same rhythm," he told
state TV in a telephone call Tuesday night, adding he would need to
"rethink my personal agenda and take care of myself, confront what must
be confronted."
Chavez, 57, did not say when he would depart for Cuba. He said he would
attend to government business Wednesday, including signing papers and
meeting with the Cabinet and military leaders.
His departure for Havana will be made "without haste," he said. "All in
good time."
A leading Colombian oncologist, Dr. Carlos Castro, said that if Chavez
undergoes radiation therapy that typically means a minimum of 10 daily
sessions, which means Chavez would need to name a temporary replacement
while undergoing treatment.
The news is bad for Chavez's political longevity, said Luis Vicente
Leon, director of surveying at the Datanalisis polling firm. Even if the
57-year-old president returns to form after surgery, it will "be
difficult to avoid comparisons to his rival (Henrique) Capriles," an
energetic and athletic 39-year-old former governor, the pollster said.
From July to September last year, Chavez received four rounds of
chemotherapy, both in Cuba and in Venezuela, and he subsequently said
tests showed he was cancer-free.
Chavez on Tuesday denied rumors that the cancer had spread aggressively
even as he said doctors do not know whether the new growth was malignant.
"I completely deny what's going around that I have metastasis in the
liver or I don't know where, that the cancer has spread all over my body
and that I'm already dying," he said.
He has never given the cancer's exact nature or location, and opposition
politicians and critics have repeatedly accused Chavez of a lack of
transparency.
Analyst Cynthia Arnson of the Woodrow Wilson International Center in
Washington said the new surgery seriously complicates Chavez's
re-election prospects.
"It's now clear that Chavez's cancer is far from cured. Chavez's illness
- his ability to campaign as well as to govern - is a major factor in
the race. It erodes the aura of invincibility as well as inevitability
that Chavez has always tried to create," she said.
The governing party will also be vexed as it lacks an alternative
candidate with Chavez's charisma and popular following, Arnson said. She
predicted the development will make "a tight race even tighter" against
Capriles.
"I am in good physical shape to confront this new battle," Chavez said
on Tuesday afternoon.
He later choked up, reflecting on mortality in the phone call.
"I ask for life," he said. "I want to live with you and fight with you
until the last moment of this life that God gave me."
He called on his backers to "accelerate the (electoral) battle."
Chavez, whose approval ratings have topped 50 percent in recent polls,
had been out of public sight since Friday.
In recent weeks, he has recovered the hair he shaved off during
chemotherapy and he has appeared vigorous, although he is puffy around
the face and neck. He had returned to a full schedule of activities
including marathon television appearances.
Doctors consulted by The Associated Press said it was difficult to
assess Chavez's prognosis. But Dr. Javier Cebrian, a colorectal
specialist and chief surgeon at University Hospital in Caracas, said the
lesion being in the very place the initial tumor was removed was not good.
"A local recurrence is a bad symptom because it means the illness is
growing again," he said.
"It's an ominous sign," agreed Dr. Michael Pishvaian, a Georgetown
University oncologist.
Pishvaian said doctors often use the term lesion to refer to a new
tumor, which appears to fit Chavez's description.
He said such a reappearance, particularly when a patient has undergone
surgery then chemotherapy, suggests cancerous cells have resisted the
treatments.
Capriles' campaign coordinator, Armando Briquet, said he and his team
wish Chavez "a complete recovery" and "a long life although we have
always been critical about the lack of real information about the
president's health."
Many Venezuelans have been impressed by Chavez's fortitude.
"It's already established that Chavez is a superman because he was sick
and he didn't delegate to anyone," said Luis Montilla, a 51-year-old
lawyer, expecting Chavez to return to Cuba for surgery and still not
delegate.
"He will continue his treatments and continue the campaign," Montilla
predicted as he waited in line at a Caracas pharmacy.
Associated Press writers Vivian Sequera in Bogota, Colombia, Ian James
in New York and Andrea Rodriguez in Havana contributed to this report.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/02/21/v-fullstory/2653104/venezuela-president-confirms-faces.html
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