Prostate cancer surgery for Colombia president Santos

Published on 03/10/2012 00:00

Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos has announced he has prostate cancer.

But the 61-year-old president said the tumour had been caught early and would be removed this week.

Speaking at the presidential palace, his wife Maria Clemencia at his side, he said he had a 97 per cent chance of a full recovery. “It’s a small tumour located in the prostate gland and the prognosis is good, that is to say it’s not aggressive,” Mr Santos added.

He said he planned to fly to Lima, Peru, later for a summit of South American and Arab leaders and then undergo surgery on his return to Bogota today.

Mr Santos said the surgery would be performed under local anaesthetic so he would not need to temporarily relinquish his presidential responsibilities.

And he said his doctors had told him the surgery was low risk. He added: “But they have recommended that after the surgery and after I leave the hospital, I don’t travel for several weeks.”

The news comes two years into Mr Santos’ four-year term and with his government about to begin peace talks with Colombia’s leftist rebels, the FARC.