President of Uruguay says he may have lung cancer

World

FILE PHOTO: Uruguay’s President Tabare Vazquez addresses the audience while holding a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Uruguayan Presidential house in Montevideo, Uruguay, December 2, 2018. REUTERS/Javier Calvelo

LIMA (Reuters) – Uruguay’s President Tabare Vazquez announced on Tuesday that doctors detected a likely malignant growth in his right lung during a routine checkup.

Vazquez, a 79-year-old former oncologist, said he would likely be hospitalized for a day or two while he undergoes additional exams to reach a definitive diagnosis.

“In a scan, a right pulmonary node with very firm characteristics of being malignant was found,” Vazquez told a news conference on Tuesday, after informing his Cabinet.

Vazquez said he felt fine and has not experienced any symptoms related to cancer.

“This was a finding as a result of periodic checkups that I do and that all citizens should do,” he said.

Vazquez led the leftist party Frente Amplio to power in 2005, ending two decades of conservative rule that followed a military dictatorship. He served as president from 2005 to 2010 and was elected for another five-year term in 2015.

Reporting By Mitra Taj; Editing by Bill Rigby

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