Argentinean President Cristina Kirchner diagnosed with cancer

2011-12-29 04:51:19 GMT+7 (ICT)

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (BNO NEWS) -- Argentinean President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has been diagnosed with cancer and will be undergoing surgery next week, government officials confirmed on Wednesday.

Argentinean Public Communication Secretary Alfredo Sococcimarro confirmed that Kirchner will be undergoing surgery in the right lobe of her thyroid gland at the Austral de Pilar Hospital, which is located about 55 kilometers (34 miles) north of Buenos Aires.

Sococcimarro said the presidential medical unit carried out routine medical checkups on Kirchner on Thursday and discovered a papillary carcinoma in the right lobe of her thyroid gland. Following exams on Tuesday, doctors confirmed the absence of lymph node involvement and the absence of metastasis.

Kirchner resumed her regular agenda on Wednesday, despite being diagnosed with cancer. But she will be excused from her presidential duties between January 4 and January 24 as she undergoes surgery, leaving Amado Boudou in charge as Acting President.

Kirchner, the widow of former President Néstor Kirchner, was first elected president in October 2007, becoming Argentina's first elected female president. With 54.1 percent of the vote, she won re-election in October of this year.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-12-29

Oh, that's rough, especially considering she lost her ex-president husband in 2010.