Hugo Chavez’s cancer “in end stage,” source tells Dan Rather
In December of 2011, Twitter users were fooled that Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez had died, but that wasn’t even the worst of it. The fake Tweets also lead to malware leading many to have to fend off a virus on their computer.
An anonymous source told Dan Rather that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was suffering from metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive cancer that has entered its "end stage."
Rather said on Wednesday that the information and quote came "from a highly respected source close to Chavez and who is in a position to know his medical condition and history," according to HDNet. However, he acknowledge that he had only one source on this information.
Rather's source said the prognosis for Chavez, who is running for reelection, was dire and he was not expected to live "more than a couple of months at most."
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On May 12, Chavez said his cancer treatment in Cuba went well, according to the BBC. He said, "In the last few days we successfully completed the radiation cycle, as planned by the medical team."
In February, Vice President Elias Jaua said that surgeons had removed a lesion from Chavez's pelvic region.
Elections in Venezuela are scheduled for October 7.