…. Cuban specialists say Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma remains in remission

President David Granger has returned to Guyana following a scheduled medical evaluation in Cuba and doctors there have assured him that he is in good health and that the Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma remains in remission.

In a release the Ministry of the Presidency said that, according to Guyana’s Embassy in Havana, the medical specialists in Cuba have confirmed that the “President has improved to the satisfaction of his doctors and that he is in good health.” The President arrived in Havana on January 18, 2020 to undergo a scheduled medical evaluation which was completed on Monday.

Back in October last year, it was reported that President Granger’s cancer was in remission, following a scheduled medical evaluation in Cuba. Cancer remission occurs when the signs and symptoms of cancer have lessened or are undetectable. In blood-related cancers such as leukaemia, this means you’ll have a decrease in the number of cancer cells. For solid tumours, that means that the tumour size has decreased. The decrease must last for at least one month before the cancer is considered to be in remission.

In a statement, Guyana’s Ambassador to Cuba, Halim Majeed, had disclosed that, following the evaluation, the medical specialists expressed complete satisfaction with the state of the President’s health. Majeed said then, that in keeping with the strict medical procedures of the Cuban health system, the Head of State was 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 is on record as iterating 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.