A Russian investigative news agency has revealed that a team of cancer doctors frequently visits Russian President Vladimir Putin at his home or escorts him on trips, amid growing questions about the 69-year-old president’s health.
A new investigation by the Proekt Foundation says a thyroid cancer doctor has visited Putin 35 times over the past four years.
The investigation stated that Yevgeny Silivanov, a thyroid oncologist, visited Putin at his residence in the Black Sea city of Sochi 35 times and spent about 166 days with him.
Also, two ear, nose and throat specialists, Igor Iskov and Alexei Shigelov, visited the Russian president frequently.
Alexei Shigelov traveled to see Putin 59 times and spent a total of 282 days with him between 2016 and 2020, according to the report.
The foundation quoted a doctor, who did not reveal his identity, as saying that thyroid diseases, including cancer, are usually diagnosed for the first time by an ear, nose and throat specialist, after which the oncologist and surgeon participate in the treatment.
According to the “Business Insider” website, the investigative institution was able to identify the doctors who spent time with Putin by examining hotel accommodation bills posted on the government procurement website.
The report said that the dates during which doctors stayed in Sochi hotels coincided with Putin’s official visits to the city or periods when he mysteriously disappeared from the public eye.
The report indicated that the average number of medical workers in Putin’s entourage increased from five in 2016 and 2017 to nine in 2019.
Members of Putin’s medical team also included anesthesiologists, a neurosurgeon, an infectious disease specialist and an intensive care physician.
The report also said that Putin also relied on alternative medicine methods by bathing in the blood extracted from deer antlers.
The report said that Putin followed the alternative treatment on the recommendation of his Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, as it is believed that deer blood improves the cardiovascular system and rejuvenates the skin.
The site says that the process of extracting blood from deer antlers is done by cutting them while the animal is still alive, in a process that animal rights activists say is similar to the process of pulling out someone’s nails.
Putin was not seen in public in September 2021, when it is widely believed in the medical community that he underwent a complex operation related to a thyroid disease, the investigative report said.
Putin then appeared with a noticeably swollen face, prompting rumors that he was taking steroids often used to treat thyroid cancer.
The Kremlin had previously refused to answer questions about Putin’s health, and a government spokesman insisted in 2020 that his health was “excellent”.