ASUNCION, (Reuters) – Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo’s cancer is more advanced than initially thought, but the chemotherapy he will undergo should not affect his ability to do his job, one of his doctors said yesterday.
Lugo, a former Roman Catholic bishop, took office as president of the poor, soy-exporting nation two years ago for a five-year term.
A biopsy carried out on a gland in his groin last week revealed Lugo was suffering non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer that originates in the lymphatic system, the disease-fighting network spread throughout your body.
Doctors have since discovered additional tumors around his diaphragm.
“It’s more advanced … but 80 percent of the time these types of lymphomas are in advanced stages,” said Alfredo Boccia, one of Lugo’s doctors.
Lugo’s diagnosis has generated speculation in Paraguay that he may not be able to conclude his term, which ends in August 2013, although most politicians shied away from commenting on his future.
Boccia said the disease should be treatable with chemotherapy.
