Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos |
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said on Monday he would undergo
surgery for a non-aggressive prostate cancer in a health scare that
seemed unlikely to derail his government's imminent talks with Marxist
rebels to end decades of war.
Santos, 61, said the tumour was discovered as part of a routine check up and will be removed on Wednesday, reports Reuters.
"It's a small tumour located on the prostate gland and it's a good
prognosis. It's not aggressive," he said at the presidential palace in
Bogota, flanked by his doctor and his wife. "There's a 97 percent chance
of being totally cured."
The Harvard-educated economist, who took office two years ago, is about
to embark on negotiations in coming weeks with the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC), whose insurgency has led to the deaths of
tens of thousands in half a century.
A successful end to the peace negotiations would help secure Santos a
place in history and allow him to further build on the economic and
security advances that began under President Alvaro Uribe a decade ago.
Colombia, a nation of about 46 million, has attracted record foreign
direct investment over the last few years as a U.S.-backed military
offensive against drug traffickers and FARC rebels improved business
confidence.
Santos, who as Uribe's defence minister dealt some of the harshest
blows against the FARC, said he would not be handing over presidential
duties.
The cancer was detected "very much in time" and his doctor expected the
president to be able to make a quick recovery, Santos said. The surgery
will be conducted with a local anaesthetic at a hospital in Bogota.
"I am going to stay in the clinic a few days. I will be subject to a
few physical limitations, but I will continue exercising my functions as
president of the Republic," he said.
Santos, who has three children, joins several other Latin American leaders who have fought cancer in recent years.
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, who seeks re-election on Sunday, has had three operations for tumours since mid-2011.
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was successfully
treated for a throat tumour earlier this year and his successor,
President Vilma Rousseff, was treated for lymphoma cancer in 2009 but
has been given a clean bill of health by her doctors.
Paraguay's former President Fernando Lugo also beat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2011 after four months of chemotherapy treatment.
A flood of messages appeared on Twitter offering support for Santos,
including best wishes from ally-turned-foe Uribe, opposition lawmakers
and government officials.
"My solidarity and support to the President and his family," said Vice
President Angelino Garzon, who also was hospitalized recently. "The
country, now more than ever, needs him."
The peace talks helped lift Santos' approval ratings at a time when he
was being slammed by critics, like former boss Uribe, who said security
had deteriorated considerably, raising the possibility he would be
unable to seek a second term.
Negotiations with the FARC, which will take place in Norway and Cuba, have raised Colombians' hopes of an end to the war.
Source: ThisDayLive
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