…Cuban medical specialists satisfied with President’s health

PRESIDENT David Granger’s cancer is now in remission, Guyana’s Ambassador to Cuba, Halim Majeed, CCH, disclosed on Wednesday, as he announced the Guyanese leader’s return to Guyana following a scheduled medical evaluation in Cuba.

Cancer remission is when the signs and symptoms of cancer have lessened or are undetectable. In blood-related cancers like leukemia, this means you’ll have a decrease in the number of cancer cells. For solid tumors, that means that the tumor size has decreased. The decrease must last for at least one month to be considered remission.

In a statement, Ambassador Majeed disclosed that President Granger returned to Guyana on Tuesday from Cuba having completed a scheduled medical evaluation at the Centro de Investigaciones Medico Quirurgicas (CIMEQ). He had departed these shores on Saturday, October 19, 2019.

“The CIMEQ medical specialists have expressed complete satisfaction with the state of the President’s health and have explained that the President’s ailment is now in remission,” Ambassador Majeed said.

He said in keeping with the strict medical procedures of the Cuban health system, the Head of State is expected to return to Cuba for another scheduled routine medical check in January 2020. Thereafter, the next evaluation will be in June 2020.

President Granger held discussions with the Cuban Foreign Affairs Vice-Minister, Ana Teresita Gonzalez Fraga in the presence of Ambassador Majeed. The Cuban Minister used the opportunity to discuss some aspects of Guyana-Cuba relations with President Granger.
President Granger has iterated his gratitude to Cuban President, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, the Government of Cuba, and the CIMEQ Medical Team which has been responsible for his treatment in Cuba, over the past months. President Granger was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma last year after an intensive series of tests by specialist doctors at the CIMEQ. In April 2019, he completed his regime of radiotherapy in Cuba without any complication. That was done after he had successfully completed his regime of chemotherapy which formed part of his medical treatment for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. According to the American Cancer Society, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (also known as non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, NHL, or sometimes just lymphoma) is a cancer that starts in the white blood cells called lymphocytes, which are part of the body’s immune system.

President Granger, late last year, had expressed his profound gratitude to his Cabinet members, staff and the rest of the nation for their support, prayers and well wishes for his complete recovery, at a welcome home and prayer ceremony that was hosted at State House on November 21, 2018. “Thank you for your expressions of concern over the last three weeks… Throughout that time, I received greetings from you all and from other well-wishers and, more than the greetings, prayers and I am truly grateful,” he said then.