By IANS/EFE,
Sao Paulo : Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who recently underwent treatment for cancer of the larynx, was released from Sao Paulo’s Sirio Libanes Hospital, where he had been admitted with pneumonia.
The 66-year-old Lula “continues to take antibiotics, but he is eating well. He’s eating practically everything and the trend is that he is getting better and better”, cardiologist Roberto Kalil Filho, the former president’s personal physician, told reporters.
Accompanied by his wife, Marisa Leticia, Lula left the health center without making remarks to the press.
“The former president had me come here to clarify any doubts and so that you (reporters) will be the first to be informed of every step in the treatment,” the doctor said.
Lula must rest this week and resume “his normal activities” next week, his physician said.
During the hospitalization, doctors recommended that Lula restrict the visits paid to him by others, including those of his children, so that he could avoid exerting his voice more than necessary. The former leader’s voice was affected by the treatment he was undergoing.
On March 4, Lula was admitted to the hospital with a fever and a diagnosis of “slight” pneumonia, which doctors said is a normal reaction for someone whose bodily defenses are low after going through three rounds of chemotherapy and 33 sessions of radiation therapy.
A day after he was admitted to the hospital, Lula’s oncologist, Artur Katz, said at a press conference that preliminary routine examinations had verified that the cancerous tumor discovered in late October had disappeared.
However, other exams must be performed over time and Lula must go for five years without any recurrence of the disease before he can be pronounced cured.
The treatment also caused the ex-president to lose 12 kg.