Venezuela: Hugo Chávez's revelation: Fighting cancer after surgery in Cuba - by Frances Robles

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez acknowledged Thursday night that a cancerous tumor caused his three-week hospital stay in Cuba — his first public admission that the illness that has kept him away so long is serious.

He revealed the diagnosis in a 15-minute evening speech, his first since falling ill 21 days ago. He stood thinner and stone-faced at a lectern, dressed in a long-sleeve black shirt with a red T-shirt underneath. From the start of his address, it was obvious that the normally jovial leader was about to reveal something bleak.

Chávez said he had not been feeling well for weeks but made the serious mistake of ignoring his health and the symptoms. It was Fidel Castro who, during a meeting on June 8, noticed that his friend was unwell, Chávez said.

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