Jose Mujica has been admitted to hospital in Montevideo

Former Uruguayan President Jose Mujica. Photo: X/ @TelemundoUY

August 27, 2024 Time: 1:08 PM

The former president of Uruguay has been battling esophageal cancer for several months.

Former Uruguayan President Jose Mujica (2010-2015) was admitted to Montevideo’s Casmu hospital on Tuesday as part of his treatment for a malignant tumor in his esophagus. He is expected to be discharged within 24 to 48 hours.

RELATED:

Uruguay primary update: 12% of votes in first 4 hours

Earlier, his doctor, Raquel Pannone, had said the leftist leader had made “very good” progress after treatment for the tumor, although rehabilitation “is very difficult for him.”

“The rehabilitation is very hard for him. He has undergone radiotherapy, which caused some symptoms that he is still struggling to overcome. It is not due to his underlying disease or some other complication. On the contrary, his progress with regard to the esophageal tumor has been very good,” the doctor stressed.

However, she added that the treatment is not without side effects and that Mujica has other pre-existing conditions that affect him. “We are monitoring him and doing everything we can to help him recover,” Pannone concluded.

On April 29, Mujica announced that he had an esophageal tumor. “I have to inform you that last Friday I went to the Casmu Hospital for a check-up, where it was discovered that I have a tumor in my esophagus. This is clearly a very serious problem, and it is doubly complex in my case because I have been suffering from an autoimmune disease for more than 20 years,” he said.

On May 2, Pannone held a press conference in which she announced that the tumor was malignant and would be treated with radiotherapy. “Based on the characteristics seen in the imaging, we strongly suspected that it was a malignant tumor, which was confirmed by the pathology results. Pepe has esophageal cancer,” she stressed, noting that a CT scan and ultrasound performed on the former president showed no signs of lesions in other organs.

Furthermore, after thanking the expressions of support from Uruguay and other countries, she mentioned that together with Mujica and his wife, former Vice President Lucia Topolansky, they had decided that the treatment would take place in Uruguay.

teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE

IN THIS NOTE: