Chemotherapy (Photo: Kate Wasserman)

According to the report, published in the Lancet Oncology, there are 163 cancer patients for every 100,000 people, a number which is much lower than in the US or European Union. However, the mortality in South America is almost double compared to developed countries. Researchers estimate that by the year 2030 there could 1.7m diagnosed cancer cases and an estimated million people could die because of it.

According to the report, 54% of Latin American population has a very small or no access at all to medical care. “We found out that there is big difference between what is actually going on and what lawmakers expect will happen,” said Paul Goss, oncologist and professor at Harvard University, stressing fears that the region could be overwhelmed by increasing cancer rates.

Goss also pointed out that there are two Latin Americas: “the elite minority with an access to the latest advances in medicine, in this case prevention, treatment and palliative care; and the other majority who only receive attention in the terminal phase of the disease.”

One of the main reasons for the sustained increase in cancer mortality is the late diagnosis of some types that are curable. Felicia Knaul, another doctor and professor at Harvard involved in the study, stated: “If breast cancer is diagnosed early, 70%-90% of women are likely to survive. Throughout Latin America, the disease is diagnosed too late, so that the chances of survival fall down to 25%.”

The specialist, who is also the head of researchers, said funds typically target the expensive treatment of terminally ill patients, with few resources directed towards prevention and control. Among the recommendations, Goss suggested the creation of clinics and the training of medical staff to nurse terminal patients in their homes. In the long term, he argued, this would not only mean a reduction of expenses, as hospitalisation is the most expensive part of treatment, but it would provide a better environment for the patients who would be next to their loved ones.

The report’s main recommendation is to put more money into prevention and control campaigns, while ensuring the poorer segments of society receive access to public healthcare. “There is a tidal wave of a cancer problem occurring on the continent, and we want people to be aware of that and take action to avert what could be a catastrophic situation,” concluded Goss.

Chávez in healthier times (Photo/Wikipedia)

The future of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is in question after Minister of Information Ernesto Villegas announced that Chávez has a “new and severe infection” on Monday.

“The president remains clinging on to life, aware of the difficulties that he is facing and complying strictly with the program designed with the medical team,” Villegas said.

Chávez underwent surgery in Havana, Cuba in December and, after returning to Venezuela, was admitted to the Caracas Military Hospital on 18th February to continue treatment.

“To date, his respiratory function has been worsening,” Villegas said.

Chávez has been undergoing chemotherapy in Caracas, and has been accompanied by family members. His daughter, María Gabriela Chavez, tweeted a message on Tuesday.

“All my love for you! We continue to cling to God! Thank you for the messages of solidarity! #momentofprayer We will overcome! With God always!” the tweet read.

Chávez won the last presidential election in October, granting him six more years in office, but if the presidential seat should be effectively vacated, elections would be held within the following 30 days.

Current vice-president Nicolás Maduro was given Chávez’s blessing to be the president’s successor and has made daily appearances in recent days, seemingly preparing for a possible election. Henrique Capriles is believed to be a potential oppositional candidate.

Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has planned to visit her Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez in Havana this week.

Hugo Chávez is recovering from an operation related to his cancer struggle in Cuba and will miss his scheduled inauguration in Caracas on 10th January.

Oscar Parrilli, secretary general of the presidency, confirmed that Fernández would make a stop in Cuba at the start of her world tour in which she will be visiting United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Página 12 has quoted a government source as saying that “the trip [to Cuba] is being managed very carefully and is a private trip”. Fernández and Chávez have been long-time political allies and share a close personal relationship. According to the same source the Argentine president would only remain in the Caribbean country for 30 hours before starting her official trip.

Hugo Chávez with President Fernández's late husband Nestór Kirchner (Wikimedia Commons)

According to La Nación, the Argentine government received a message asking Fernández to postpone her visit to Cuba but the president insisted she wanted to visit, at least to support Chávez’s family.

La Nación also published that last Thursday Fernández had sent Ricardo Follonier, an aide to the late President Néstor Kirchner and close to the Venezuelan government, to Cuba to express the Argentine government’s support.

Hundreds of Chávez supporters marched yesterday in Buenos Aires in support of the Venezuelan president. The supporters, many members of social movements and political parties, marched to the Venezuelan embassy to deliver a letter of support and solidarity.

“The Argentine people thank you and promise that we will stand firm in following your teachings, defending our achievements, and continue fighting for what still needs to be done,” the letter read.

President Hugo Chávez has suffered new health complications following his recent operation to treat cancer, Vice President Nicolás Maduro declared last night. The Venezuelan leader remains “delicate” after developing a respiratory infection 19 days after surgery.

“A few minutes ago we were with the president – we greeted him and he himself told us about these complications,” said Maduro, who is currently visiting Chávez in Havana, Cuba, where he is receiving his cancer treatment. The vice president added that Chávez wishes for 2013 to be a year of “consolidation of the homeland and national union.”

In a statement transmitted as a national announcement in Venezuela, Maduro said he would remain in Havana “attentive to the current situation.”

Chávez’s health has been a major point of debate in Venezuela since the president underwent a new round of surgery in Havana on 11th December. There is growing uncertainty over whether the leader will be able to attend the inauguration ceremony for his fourth term as president, scheduled for 10th January.

According to the national constitution, if a president elect is unable to take the oath of office in front of the National Assembly on 10th January it can be taken in front of the Supreme Court at a later, unfixed, date.

Amid criticism of the government, opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who was defeated by Chávez in October’s presidential elections, acknowledged some flexibility over the inauguration date. “A person does not lose the condition of president elect just because they cannot assume the role on the established date. [If unable to do so] the constitution has the answers. First it would mean a temporary absence and only later would an absolute absence be declared.”

In Venezuela, temporary presidential absences can last for 90 days, extendable one time for another 90 days. An absolute absence has to be decreed by the National Assembly and triggers new elections if called within the first four years of a six-year presidential term.

The opposition coalition Mesa de la Unidad Democrática has accused the government of not officially recognising Chávez’s ‘temporary absence’ and of hiding the true state of the president’s health to “create a climate of tension.”

According to a press announcement the Venezuelan government made on Christmas Eve, President Hugo Chávez’s health keeps improving and he is now “up walking and exercising” two weeks after undergoing a complicated surgery, which threatened to remove him from power.

In Venezuelan Communications Minister Ernesto Villega’s announcement yesterday, he said doctors mean Chávez has “experienced a slight improvement with a progressive tendency after a complicated surgery”.

Vice President Nicolás Maduro participated yesterday in a mass at the church of San Jose, where he prayed for the health of Chávez and that he returns to Venezuela soon.

The vice president said that the president “goes conquering from battle to battle, victory by victory”, referring to the improving health of the hospitalised Chávez.

The official started his speech by saying “we have received the best Christmas present we could get: a call from President Chávez.” Maduro could confirm after having talked to the president on the phone that “he was in good spirit and even gave instructions to the railway ministry”. Maduro also said “Chávez is up walking as part of the recovery process,” and added: “President Chávez instructed me in a special way to greet all the children of Venezuela on this day when they are all awaiting the arrival of Baby Jesus.”

The opposition and the ruling party will debate in the coming days about the date and venue of the swearing in of the new presidential term to be performed by Chávez after winning the elections this year.

The president must present himself to the National Assembly on 10th January. However, the president of Venezuela’s parliament, Diosdado Cabello, said the Constitution could allow for the president to swear to the Supreme Court later.

Story courtesy of Agencia Púlsar, the AMARC-ALC news agency.

Venezuelan Vice President and Foreign Affairs Minister Nicolás Maduro announced yesterday evening that President Hugo Chávez’s operation in Havana, Cuba to remove cancerous tissue was “complicated” and ultimately “successful”.

“Fortunately, that giant humanity of our commander once again showed its strength”, the vice president and former bus driver stated in a press conference from the Palacio de Miraflores, in the capital of Caracas. Chávez is said to be receiving post-operation treatment in Havana after a complex six-hour surgery.

“Thank you very much, Cuba”, Maduro directed at the leaders and doctors of the socialist nation, one of Venezuela’s closest regional allies and, it could be said, ideological inspiration for Chávez’s brand of ‘Bolivarian’ Latin American political consciousness.

The procedure was the head of state’s fourth cancer operation since June 2011, when malignant cells were discovered in a pelvic abscess. Although Chávez declared himself free of cancer in July of this year, the decision to return to Cuba for treatment on Monday was made after test results last week revealed cancerous cells in the affected area.

Chávez’s decision to sit out last Friday’s Mercosur summit in Brazil caused many to speculate as to the true state of his health. He revealed the next day that he would be returning to Cuba for surgery, accompanied by family and close political allies, and also publicly acknowledged the possibility that he would not be able to assume his fourth term as president.

He expressed his support for Vice President Nicolás Maduro as potential successor, calling him “a complete revolutionary, a man of great experience despite his youth”. Venezuelan law calls for new elections to be held within 30 days if the president-elect cannot assume office.

Vigils were held in the country’s various “Plazas Bolivar” during the surgery, as well as Venezuelan embassies throughout Latin America.

Chávez supporters have since stated that, following the surgery, he will be able to return to the presidency in January, despite the required rest period of ten days or more.

Elias Jaua of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) told Noticias24 “Life is the only possible scenario […] we revolutionaries have to have the maturity to defend the system of government we have established and comply with the mandate of President Chávez. We must succeed in maintaining the peace, harmony, and stability of the country.”

Today the National Assembly of Venezuela (AN) approved President Hugo Chávez’s’ request to travel to Cuba for a special medical treatment.

The trip starts today, however, the return date is unknown. Chávez assured the public that he will attend his inauguration on 10th January and present his plans for 2013-19 to the AN.

In the letter to the assembly Chávez explains: “Alongside the intense presidential campaign and fulfillment of my duties as a head of state, I have been taking care of my own health and complied with the treatment plan given to me by the doctor. Six months after I completed the last radiation therapy treatment, he recommended that I start a special treatment consisting of various sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to consolidate the process of strengthening my health.”

Hugo Chávez was diagnosed with cancer back in June 2011, forcing him to suspend his participation in the founding meeting of CELAC. He went through several chemotherapy and radiation therapy cycles in Cuba and declared himself to be free of cancer in July this year.

Recently Chávez has presented himself as an active and healthy figure in the public eye, who can handle pressure. At the same time, he has to spend a lot of time in Cuba (over 100 days per year), where he gets treatment for cancer, the type of which remains a secret.

Chávez finished his latest letter to the AN with the following statement: “I confirm that I have great confidence that I will build a proud country together with its people.”

Brazil’s former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been told by doctors that he is free of the cancer that he was diagnosed with last year.

There are no longer signs of the malignant tumour which appeared in the ex-president’s larynx on 29^th October last year.

According to a spokesman from the Lula Institute, doctors conducted various examinations at the Syrian-Lebanese hospital, in São Paolo, which confirmed “the complete remission of cancer”.

The former president has undergone three cycles of chemotherapy treatment and a further 33 radiotherapy sessions.

Doctors declared that the recently turned 67-year-old can “lead a normal life”.

Lula, as he is commonly known, was in power in Brazil from 2003 to 2010. The president ended his tenure with a record 80% popularity rating, having presided over a period of significant economic growth during which millions of the population were lifted from poverty.

A former metal worker and union leader, Lula was the country’s first ever working-class president.

Lula is now set to aid current president, Dilma Rousseff, in her campaign for re-election in 2014.

Starting from today all tobacco products going out to public must contain written and graphic warning labels about health related risks for the potential consumers. A new law extends for the actual products and commercials.

The law was confirmed back in April 2012. According to the Ministry of Health, tobacco smoking causes over 40,000 annual deaths in Argentina. Until now, cigarette packs included phrases like “Smoking is harmful to health”, which were not strong enough to prevent their massive consumption.

New written warnings contain phrases that respond to the standards of the World Health Organisation, such as: “Smoking causes cancer”, “Smoking causes emphysema” etc.

Mario Virgolini, a coordinator of the National Tabacco Control Programme in the Ministry of Health, brings examples of other countries like Brazil and Canada, where the strong messages on cigarette packs “stimulated the smokers to give up smoking”. He adds that the new messages “help to raise aware about the damage that a smoking habit causes, as the consumer faces another reality.”

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos appeared at his hospital window on Thursday announcing to the media that his operation “went very well”.

Santos, 61, underwent an operation on Wednesday after he made public that he was suffering from prostate cancer in a surprise announcement on Monday.

“Luckily I am recovering well” said Santos, who also took time to thank the numerous support messages he has received in the last few days. Among those who have contacted Santos to wish him a full recovery are Spanish Prime-Minister Mariano Rajoy and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

A statement released by the medical team treating Santos read “the patient is active and presents stable vital signals. In accordance with the recovery plan, he will remain in the hospital today”.

It is believed Santos will be discharged from the hospital in the next few days, and will finish his recovery at the presidential palace. He has not delegated his responsibilities to Vice-President Angelino Garzón as he only underwent local anaesthesia.

Garzón went to visit the president before undergoing a medical examination himself as he is recovering from mobility problems caused by a cerebrovascular accident.

Garzón’s examination was demanded by the Colombian Senate to see if he is able to fulfil his obligations as vice-president. His own health issues have taken on an added significance following Santos’ announcement.

Santos, whose mandate runs until 2014, adds to the surprisingly long list of Latin American leaders to be diagnosed with cancer in recent years joining Chávez and former presidents Lugo, from Paraguay, and Lula, from Brazil.