Military guarantees stability after Chávez cancer admission

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez revealed that he is fighting cancer after having a tumour removed in Cuba, raising uncertainty about Venezuela's political future even as he assured his country he expects to fully recover.

Chávez was noticeably thinner and paler as he appeared on television Thursday night, reading from a prepared speech with a serious and at times sad expression.

He said he is resolved to "be victorious in this new battle that life has placed before us".

Chávez's admission shook the political landscape of the oil-exporting country that he has dominated for his more than 12 years in power, and where he had vowed to win re-election next year and govern for another decade or more.

no obvious successor

There is no obvious successor to the charismatic Chávez within his political movement, and his illness may also affect his leadership within the ALBA alliance of leftist Latin American nations.

Chávez said he had two operations in Cuba, including one that removed a tumour in which there were "cancerous cells".

The 56-year-old president said the surgery was performed after an initial operation nearly three weeks ago to remove a pelvic abscess.

A military chief, General Henry Rangel Silva, assured the country on Friday that Venezuela's stability "is guaranteed".

"President Chávez will continue because he hasn't truly stopped exercising his functions as president," Rangel Silva said on state television. He said Chávez was recovering smoothly and had been on top of his duties while in Cuba.

"He will be in our country soon," Rangel said, without saying exactly when Chávez was expected to return.

Chávez said the tumour was in the pelvic region, but didn't say exactly where or what type of cancer was involved. He said he is continuing to receive treatment in Cuba, but did not elaborate.

"Statistically, it would most likely be a colorectal cancer," said Dr Michael Pishvaian, a cancer specialist at Georgetown University's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

"It's not unheard of for a gastrointestinal cancer, particularly colorectal cancer, to have broken through the colon and be surrounded by an abscess, a collection of infected cells," he said.

In such cases, the cancer is discovered when cells from the abscess are examined later. A second surgery might be done to remove any additional cancer and nearby lymph nodes to see whether it had spread.

"Treatment could range from simple observation, if this was a very early-stage cancer, to chemotherapy to try to prevent recurrence of the cancer if it was very advanced, and potentially even radiation therapy," Pishvaian said.

It is not unusual for someone to be sick and rundown after such major surgery, but "it doesn't necessarily bode for a poor prognosis," he added. "The potential for recovery all really depends on the type of cancer and the stage of the cancer."

Chávez said it was a mistake not have taken better care of his health through medical checkups.

"What a fundamental error," he said at a podium, flanked by the Venezuelan flag and a portrait of 19th-century independence hero Símon Bolívar, the namesake of his Bolivarian Revolution political movement.

"Now I wanted to speak to you from this steep hill, from which I feel that I'm coming out of another abyss," Chávez said. "I wanted to speak to you now with the sun of daybreak that I feel is shining on me. I think we've achieved it. Thank you, my God."

Expressing confidence that he will continue to get better, Chávez said: "I invite you all to continue climbing new summits together."

Chávez didn't say how much longer he expects to remain in Cuba recovering, and there was no information on when or where his message was recorded.

- AP