MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguayan president under treatment in Sao Paulo oncology clinic

The Bishop-president following medical tests in Asunción

Paraguayan president Fernando Lugo has undergone oncology tests at a leading hospital in Sao Paulo under the supervision of a team of four Brazilian and one Paraguayan professional headed by President Lula da Silva chief medic, Dr. Roberto Kalil Filho.

Lugo is spending the night at the Syrian-Lebanese hospital and “if tests are not encouraging he will be remaining until next Friday”, announced Dr. Kalil.

The Paraguayan president arrived at the hospital Tuesday early afternoon by helicopter directly from the Congonhnas airport to where a Brazilian Air Force transport flew him from Asunción.

The medical team looking after Lugo is considered among the best in Brazil and so is the hospital, with its state of the art equipment.

Lugo is suffering from lymphatic cancer which was discovered last week following the extraction of an inguinal ganglion during a routine check-up. Last January the former bishop underwent a prostate intervention.

Later a second nodule was discovered in his chest although it was categorized as “treatable since they were discovered in early development”.

In Asuncion Vice-President Federico Franco said that President Lugo would be returning to the country next Friday ready to address issues pertaining to his office.

“On leaving he was in very good spirits and until his return, Health minister Esperanza Martínez will be in charge of giving two daily reports on the medical situation of the president in Sao Paulo” said Franco.

“We hope a quick effective diagnosis can be achieved so as to proceed with the treatment and we can have the President fully recovered with us”, added Franco.

Minister Martinez in her first report informed that a sample of the ganglion extracted from President Lugo showed a “low degree of malignity” according to Harvard University School of Medicine.

“Pathologist Jose Bellasai took the sample and has just reported, in this adverse scenario, the good news”, said Ms Martinez.

Lugo, 59, lives alone at the Paraguayan presidential residence, although since the lymphoma was detected he is accompanied by his eldest sister Mercedes, who acts as First Lady. Next Sunday will be two years since Lugo took office as head of a catch-all coalition that ended six decades of hegemonic dominance from the Colorado party.