El País Editorial
A few weeks ago the former president José Mujica began to feel minor discomfort at the level of the digestive tube. On April 15 he consulted on the subject Raquel Pannonethe family doctor who has been with him for more than 15 years. Last Friday, a digestive endoscopy showed that the former president suffers from a tumor that is not too extensive at the level of the lower esophagus.
Due to its characteristics, there was a high suspicion that the tumor was malignant, which was demonstrated through a pathological anatomy examination. “Pepe has a esophagus cancer” Pannone made it clear that Friday by pointing out that many times people choose to resort to euphemisms instead of “naming things.” The diagnosis was later confirmed with other studies. The doctor held a press conference in which she updated the information about Mujica’s health status, and the steps planned for his short-term treatment. The latter, she specified, to “start saying good things” since, in the midst of the drama, the panorama also offers encouraging aspects.
Last Tuesday, the former president underwent a tomography and one ultrasound. They showed that the tumor is limited to the esophagus, and that he has no injuries to other organs. The age – Mujica will turn 89 on May 20 – and the fact that he has been suffering from a disease for more than 20 years. immunological disease, vasculitis and one renal insufficiency that has afflicted him for a decade and a half, they ruled out at this time, Pannone said, two of three possible treatments: surgery and chemotherapy.
Photo: Francisco Flores/El País.
Mujica will then begin receiving sessions of radiotherapy. It will be from Monday to Friday, five to ten minutes per session. According to the doctor, it is the treatment that benefits the histological type of the injury suffered by the former president the most. Pannone specified that the procedure will be carried out in Uruguay, despite the multiple offers that were received from Argentina, Brazil, the United States and other countries. According to the doctor, the reasons for doing it at the local level are twofold. One is that In Uruguay the technical conditions exists, achieving good results. The other is more personal. “Separating Pepe for more than 40 days from Lucía, from the farm, from the militancy and from his companions, is something that would undoubtedly work against his recovery,” he stated.
“We need to have everything that helps him move forward with his life,” he added.
Thus, as progress is made, the former president’s response to the treatment will be evaluated. In this regard, the doctor said that they have two objectives. The “maximum” is that Mujica overcome the disease. And, the “intermediate”, which allows you to have a long survival and one Good life quality. “We are going to strive for that,” said the doctor.
“The path has just begun, Pepe decided to fight and we are going to accompany him,” he said. Pannone estimated that, in the short term, the former president should not give up some of his favorite activities. For example, work the dirt in his farm. Yes, he could experience, as a result of the treatment, greater fatigue than usual. One of the direct consequences is that the “shows of affection and hugs” that, he said, the former president is accustomed to receiving, should be limited as much as possible.
It will be in the clinic that was founded by Vázquez
Pannone yesterday ruled out that the situation that afflicts Mujica is linked to what happened to the former president in April 2021, when he had to undergo emergency surgery. “Actually, he had swallowed a fish bone, which was extracted,” said the doctor, who added that examinations subsequent to that event did not find any other injuries.
Mujica had announced this Wednesday that it was almost certain that he would have to undergo radiotherapy. The sessions will begin next week at the COR clinic, one of the best known in the country, especially for having been founded by the former president Tabare Vazquez and directed today by his son Álvaro. According to the doctor, the treatment will be through an agreement with Casmu, the mutual insurance company to which Mujica is affiliated.
Photo: Francisco Flores
Pannone emphasized the difference between having “a tumor” and suffering from cancer. “A tumor” is a mass that grows inside the body and does not necessarily have to be malignant.
Knowing the difference between a benign tumor and a malignant tumor, also known as cancer, “is differentiated by pathological anatomy.” “That is why some of you consulted me at the beginning and I responded that, on a scientific level, until I had the pathological anatomy I was not going to talk about characteristics,” he explained.
