Venezuela’s Chavez declares himself free of cancer

LA FRIA, Venezuela, (Reuters) – Venezuelan leader  Hugo Chavez declared himself cancer-free today, four  months after surgery to remove a cancerous tumor that shook the  South American nation ahead of a 2012 presidential vote.
“I am free of illness,” Chavez, 57, said in an address to  Venezuelans after touching down from Cuba in a western state  where he plans to make a pilgrimage to a Catholic shrine.
Despite the ebullient socialist’s declarations, most  experts say it is impossible for a cancer patient to be  considered out of danger until at least two years after  treatment.
Dressed in green military uniform and speaking confidently,  Chavez said tests he undertook in Cuba this week had shown  there were no malignant cells in his body following four cycles  of chemotherapy after the June 20 operation in Havana.
“A vital stage has concluded,” he added. “The new Chavez is  back … We will live and we will continue living.”
Chavez has not given precise details of his cancer, but the  surgery was in his abdomen region.