Thaindian News

London, June 4 (IANS) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s battle with cancer has entered its last stage, and the 57-year-old leader is not expected to live more than a few months, a media report said Monday.

According to Spanish newspaper ABC, the South American leader is now taking an opiate “100 times stronger than morphine” to relieve the severe pain and the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation.

The drugs are so potent that “at any moment his body will not be able to tolerate them”, the doctors treating him were quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.

Chavez is seeking re-election for a third time and registered his candidacy last week at the National Electoral Council.

But sources said it was doubtful he will live to see the results Oct 7.

The medical report, seen by the Spanish newspaper, said Chavez was also suffering from rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancerous tumour of the muscles attached to the bones.

Along with painkiller fentanyl, doctors have also prescribed bisphosphonate to combat the spread and corticosteroids to alleviate the side effects of radiation and chemotherapy.

The treatment is aimed at combating the spread of cancer, not eradicating it, the report said.

Earlier reports said Chavez was making a “progressive recovery” after undergoing cancer treatment in Cuba.

Chavez has not released any details about the nature of his disease, saying only that it was in his pelvic region.

He recently said the US may be infecting Latin American leaders with cancer after the presidents of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina were struck down with the disease.