From Cuba on Chavez’s Cancer
Warhol P.
HAVANA TIMES — My father died in 2000. His cancer started in his colon, a situation that led to an operating room where the doctors removed the polyps that had invaded that part of his body. After surgery they said the operation had been a success.
He was then sent home with a plan for chemotherapy treatment.
Seven months later, his stomach began to bloat. It became filled with fluid, which required him to go to the hospital often to have it emptied – it bothered him when he breathed.
Two months were enough for him to finally die in a dreadful manner.
Once cancer appears, it’s almost impossible to stop it.
Numerous misrepresentations have been made about the situation President Chavez is facing, plus there’s still no clear discussion about what type of cancer he has.
The truth is that there are some types of cancer that are less aggressive, and with good treatment these can be eliminated.
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the condition of the Venezuelan president, how he’s dealing with it (and not only him, but also his family). Inevitably my thoughts go back to my father, who within a short period turned into a living corpse lying on a bed.
I remember him spending entire days doing nothing but vomiting. Even though he was hungry, he couldn’t even eat soup, he couldn’t swallow anything.
I’m one of those people who think that no human being should go through something like that.
It hurts to think that Chavez might die that way, even more so when I think about how much he has done for his people throughout his terms in office.
I’m trying to think positively, and though I know that cancer is almost impossible to fight, I can see that at least Chavez is trying. I hope that everything goes well and that we can again see him smiling, desiring the best for our peoples.
Interesting news from Washington:
“President Obama, still recovering from cancer surgery in a Beijing hospital, was too ill to attend his inauguration. There has been no video of the President since he entered hospital in December, but the Chinese Politburo issued a statement the he is doing well, sitting up and sipping a shaved ice. Obama’s close political adviser, Valery Jarret, passed on a message which she said the President told her when she last saw him in hospital. Republican lawmakers appealed to the Supreme Court on the legality of having the unelected Valery Jarret sworn in as “Temporary President”. As expected, the judges, all hand picked by Obama in his first term, were unanomous in endorsing the rather unorthodox reading of the US Constitution.
Meanwhile, a battalion of Chinese PLA military advisers are arriving in the US where they will begin training the new People’s Militias established around the country.”
Now if you believe all that, you can believe Hugo Chavez is alive and on the road to recovery and all is normal & legal in Venezuela.
I have heard that your species exist (conspiritus loco) but I have never actually seen one in real life. So you think the US gave Chavez cancer? Wow, that explains why you are so enamored with his disastrous fiscal leadership (20% inflation and runaway debt) and divisive foreign policy. You do realize that there is no embargo against Venezuela so if there was a ‘medicine’ that could cure hirm and it was not available to Cuba, so what? Chavez could buy it directly from the US himself. After all, after giving him cancer in 2002 as you suggests the US remained Venezuela’s single largest oil customer. Also remember that Chavez al has a team of Russian physicians working with the Cubans. Are you suggesting they don’t have enough experience either. I have heard that the Brazilians are pretty good and he consulted with them as well. They wouldn’t give him the medicine he needed either I suppose. The fact is that when the surgeons reportedly removed more than five feet of his lower intestine, fuse several vertebrae in his lower back and then the patient suffers a life-threatening respiratory infection and loses 40 pounds after the SIX hour successful surgery, the prognosis can’t be good. But hey, let’s be optimistic. He could still get better and pigs really could fly!
Since he entered hospital in December, there has been not one video image of Chavez, not one new photograph and nobody outside his family and political allies has seen him.
There is no reason to believe he is even alive. It’s time to put up proof or admit the fraud being perpetrated on the Venezuelan people.
Echoing the sentiments expressed in preceeding comments, I wish President Chavez, a true man of the people, and a profoundly progressive thinker /practitioner of our times, all success in his current battle.
I disagree with the writer that once cancer is diagnosed, its the end. After all Lula da Silva and Fernando Lugo both were successfully treated for their cancers. I agree that some cancers are more difficult to treat than others. Also early detection seems to be a factor in successful treatment.The Hospital Sírio-Libanês in São Paulo, where both Lula and Lugo were treated, has achieved much distinction in the field of oncology. President Chavez was said to have wanted to be treated there but the hospital could not agree to his security requirements. Cuba, with all due respect to its medical acclaim, is not known for its distinction in cancer treatment. This may be partially due to the US blockade (as indeed referred to by Fidel in one of his reflections) which has prevented the acquisition of specialized equipment and medicines. The other factor may simply be a question of time. Cuba may perhaps not have acquired enough experience in cancer treatment at this stage.
Reckoning all the factors, can we rule out the hand of imperial subversion, considering that Chavez has been in the cross-hairs of the powerful neighbor to the North from the very beginning? Could the window of opportunity have been created during the abortive coup of 2002, when Chavez was isolated to an island alone with the treasonous and mercenary soldiers beholden to the empire?
Best wishes to Hugo!
I agree with the writer. Chavez has done so much for his country and especially the poorer segments of Venezuelan society. He has given many people hope for a better life. I have been to Venezuela twice on research/study tours and have witnessed his work and popularity. Let us hope he comes through this to continue moving his country forward with social justice and equality.