Outlook for Chávez Darkens, Doctors Say

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Wall Street Journal:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's cancer is most likely terminal given the disease's recurrences, and while the president may bounce back for periods, his health is increasingly at risk, say several leading cancer specialists not involved in the treatment.

Mr. Chávez is recovering from surgery in Cuba this week after the president said malignant cells reappeared for a third time in his abdomen. Venezuela's government hasn't disclosed what type of cancer he has or what the surgery was for. But it has described the more than six-hour operation as "complex and delicate" and said Mr. Chávez might not be back in Caracas in time for his Jan. 10 inauguration for a new term after 14 years in power.

On Thursday, Venezuela's government said doctors upgraded Mr. Chávez's condition to "favorable" from "stable." Earlier, it said the operation had "complications" and "needed corrective treatment due to bleeding."

Doctors say cancer is a game of odds, and that Mr. Chávez may yet stage a full recovery. "The one thing we do know is that we are not great at predicting," said J. Randolph Hecht, director of gastrointestinal oncology at the University of California at Los Angeles. "Only in Hollywood do people know how long they have."

Despite the secrecy surrounding the politician's condition, however, intelligence analysts in the hemisphere and doctors who specialize in cancer say they can piece together a rough prognosis based on publicly available information—even though they have no direct knowledge of the case.

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Baby Hugo's final days?

[Casino67]

Awwwwwww.

[Pepper]

One bright spot in 4 years of bad news.

[cudjo]

Somehow I doubt there will be many tears shed over his demise

[Valin]

Somehow I doubt there will be many tears shed over his demise

 

 

Some will

[Draggingtree]

All I got to say bye bye sucker