MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguay president cancels activities and is flown to Brazil for cancer check-up

President Lugo suffered a severe cold which forced him to cancel his trip to Peru

Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo travelled to Brazil on Thursday bringing forward a routine check-up following his cancer treatment last year and cancelling a planned trip to Peru due to a severe cold.

Lugo, a former Roman Catholic bishop, was declared in remission from cancer in November 2010, four months after he started chemotherapy to treat his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

He has been undergoing check-ups every two or three months at the Sao Paulo Syrian-Lebanese hospital where he has been receiving treatment and was due to travel there on Friday.

But Communications Minister Augusto Dos Santos said Lugo would travel Thursday to undergo routine studies to evaluate his health. “He will continue with the scheduled check-ups,” Dos Santos said without providing further details.

Lugo had cut back on his activities since Monday due to a severe cold that forced him to cancel his trip to Peru for the presidential inauguration of Ollanta Humala

He is expected to remain at the Sao Paulo hospital over the weekend.