Chavez Speaks Out of His Fighting Cancer after Surgery. CUBA, July 1, 2011.- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made a televised address to the Venezuelan people on Thursday from Havana, in which he revealed that he is fighting cancer after having a tumor removed, and he assured his countrymen to expect a full recovery. Chavez said he is resolved to "be victorious in this new battle that life has placed before us." Chavez said that after that initial operation, doctors began to suspect other problems, and that it had been Fidel Castro who had given him the news of the tumor. He said a series of tests confirmed the presence of an abscessed tumor with the presence of cancerous cells, which made a second operation necessary that allowed for the complete extraction of the tumor. In Caracas, Gen. Henry Rangel Silva, said on Friday that Venezuela's stability "is guaranteed." Rangel Silva said on state television that "President Chavez will continue because he hasn't truly stopped exercising his functions as president." He said Chavez was recovering smoothly and has been on top of his duties while in Cuba. Chavez said it had been a fundamental error on his part not to have taken better care of his health through medical checkups. He said: "Now I wanted to speak to you from this steep hill, from which I feel that I'm coming out of another abyss," Chavez said. "I wanted to speak to you now with the sun of daybreak that I feel is shining on me. I think we've achieved it. Thank you, my God." Expressing confidence that he will continue to get better, Chavez said: "I invite you all to continue climbing new summits together." (Cubaminrex-RHC)
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