Former Uruguayan President José Mujica, diagnosed last April with esophageal cancer, was admitted to a hospital in Montevideo on Thursday for the third time in less than two weeks.
Dr. Raquel Pannone, the former president’s personal physician, explained to AP that Mujica was hospitalized at Casmu in the Uruguayan capital due to digestive issues that led to dehydration, and he will undergo a series of tests throughout the day.
“We are conducting exams and improving what we can,” the doctor stated.
Although the situation does not point to severity, Pannone later specified that Mujica will remain hospitalized “a few more days” in order to stabilize him as much as possible.
“We started to rehydrate him intravenously, which generates a practically immediate effect, and he is better than three hours ago,” she indicated in a press conference.
According to the doctor, the fact that Mujica is extending his stay in the hospital “does not mean that he is sicker or that his prognosis is bad,” rather it is to ensure he can recover fully before returning home.
“If we manage to have that happen and his general condition is better, he will return home to continue rehabilitating and gaining a bit more strength,” she clarified.
Pannone reminded that the discomfort Mujica is feeling is a consequence of the radiation therapy he underwent to treat a malignant tumor in the esophagus, which ultimately caused him to develop fibrosis.
She took the opportunity to clarify that, although she had previously stated that there are “strong convictions that the cancer was cured,” what is currently evident are “clinical evidence” that he is in “a stage of remission due to the treatment.”
“A definitive cure cannot be claimed at this time, what we do know is that there is no clinical evidence that (the tumor) is present,” she pointed out.
Last week, Mujica, 89, had already been admitted to a health center for the same issue after experiencing difficulties with eating due to the treatments.
On that occasion, Pannone explained that “the consequences of the radiation therapy made it harder for him to eat and drink,” as he suffers from a kidney condition. “Radiation therapy is like a burn, and we have to ensure that the tissue recovers. At 90 years old, everything is slower, including tissue recovery. This makes it uncomfortable for him when he eats, which is why he eats in smaller quantities,” she said.
Mujica announced his own diagnosis at the end of April and, a week later, began a treatment with daily sessions of radiation therapy.
The former guerrilla leader was in charge of Uruguay between 2010 and 2015, and his government was noted for its extensive social agenda. The affable leader retired from the Senate and politics in 2020, although he never stopped advocating for the causes he supports and remained active within the leftist Broad Front.
His last public appearance was on August 27 at a political rally at his party’s headquarters, just hours after he left the hospital.