Brazil ex-president Lula has throat cancer

Brazil's popular ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the South American country's first elected leftist leader, has been diagnosed with throat cancer, the hospital treating him said. Following a series of tests, the 66-year-old Lula "was diagnosed with a tumor located in his larynx" and will receive outpatient chemotherapy treatment, the Sirio-Libanes Hospital of Sao Paulo said in a statement. Late in the afternoon, he left the hospital and walked out to his car, and it was not immediately known how many sessions of chemotherapy Lula would undergo, a hospital spokesman said. Local media reports however cited unnamed medical sources as saying that Lula would undergo three rounds of treatment at 20-day intervals. Lula "is in great spirits," Finance Minister Guido Mantega told reporters after visiting with him at the hospital. "It is a problem that can be cured with chemotherapy and was caught early. The outlook is good." The news still came as a shock to Brazilians, who adore the former metal worker. Lula's social programs helped lift 29 million Brazilians out of poverty, and his foreign policy helped turn Brazil into a global power player. President Dilma Rousseff, a Lula protege and his successor, warmly wished her former boss a speedy recovery. "Thanks to preventative exams, the tumor was discovered at a stage that allows it to be treated and cured," she said. "With his strength, determination and capacity to overcome all types of adversity," Lula "will also overcome this challenge," Rousseff said. Lula left power with a soaring 80 percent approval rating after two consecutive terms from January 2003 to December 2010. Brazil's constitution prohibits a third consecutive term. Jose Crispiniano, a spokesman for the Citizenship Institute that Lula created after leaving office, said the ex-president -- a former smoker -- went to the hospital on Friday complaining of throat pain. Lula, who is known for his raspy voice, was "even more hoarse than usual," he said. The former Brazilian leader will have his first chemotherapy session on Monday, Crispiniano said. Since leaving office, Lula has often traveled abroad, and has been busy with his activities as head of the governing Worker's Party. He celebrated his 66th birthday only a few days ago. "I am proud to have dedicated more than half of my 66 years to the struggle for the victory of democracy in this country," Lula said in a video message posted on his institute's website in response to birthday well-wishers. The Sirio-Libanes Hospital, which specializes in cancer treatment, treated Lula's former vice-president, Jose Alencar, who died in March following cancer in his abdominal area. Rousseff was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in 2009, before she was elected to Brazil's top office, and was treated in September of that year at the hospital. Doctors say she is currently cancer-free. Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo, 60, was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in August 2010 and also treated at Sirio-Libanes Hospital as well as in Asuncion. In December, doctors said he was cancer-free. Brazil's foreign minister suggested in July that Hugo Chavez could have his cancer treated in Brazil, but the Venezuelan leader instead opted for medical care in Cuba. Chavez recently said his doctors told him that he is cancer-free.