Venezuelan President Chavez: 'I already feel healthy'

Venezuelan President Chavez: 'I already feel healthy'

2011-08-31 21:40:08 GMT+7 (ICT)

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (BNO NEWS) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said he "already feels healthy" after undergoing his third chemotherapy session on Tuesday.

Following Tuesday's chemotherapy session, which was described as a "tough treatment," President Chavez said that "with the help of God, I already feel healthy; healthy as the nation, healthy with optimism to continue living and fighting with you."

Chavez spoke to a group of people who had gathered outside the Carlos Arvelo Military Hospital in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, supporting the President in his fight against cancer.

In addition, Chavez said his health does not depend on himself, but rather "on the nation." During a state TV broadcast on Chavez Television, the leader asked God for the health of all the children, the Venezuelan family, the nation, and his own.

Chavez asked for his health in particular because "I do not belong to myself, I belong to the whole nation. I have the responsibility to recover completely with this will to live and fulfill the task that you have given me."

The Venezuelan President was on a three-country tour which included Brazil, Cuba and Ecuador when doctors detected a tumor with cancerous cells in his pelvic area during a planned medical checkup in La Havana. He had an initial surgery on June 11 to drain his pelvic area and begin antibiotic treatment. A second surgery was then performed to remove a cancerous tumor.

The left wing president has been in office since 1999 and plans to run for re-election in late 2012 despite his disease.

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