World Leaders Undergoing Cancer Treatment

World Leaders Fight Cancer

As Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announces that he is returning to Cuba for cancer treatment, HuffPost World takes a look at other world leaders who have battled cancer while in office.

Chavez announced on Tuesday that doctors found a two-centimeter new lesion in the same area where cancer was detected last year.

"I'm a human being," Chavez said on television, according to Reuters. "I'm not immortal." He added that there was a high probability that the lesion was malignant.

Venezuela's president is not the only world leader who has fought the disease while in power. Reuters reports that Ronald Reagan was treated for cancerous polyps from his colon while in the White House in 1985. France's Francois Mitterrand fell ill with prostate cancer in 1981, and Brazil's former president Lula Da Silva is currently recovering from throat cancer.

Take a look at the slideshow below to see world leaders who have fought cancer while in office. Captions courtesy of Reuters.

Before You Go

Hugo Chavez

Leaders Treated For Cancer

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