(CNN) -- It started with an unscheduled phone call to an evening TVshow. The voice of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez crackled over thestate television speakers. "I have some news that is not very good," he said on May 9, 2011,describing what he said was debilitating pain in his left knee thatforced him to abruptly cancel a trip to Brazil and go ondoctor-ordered bed rest. "Surgery could be necessary," he continued. "They're evaluatingthat, but anyway, it is my responsibility to inform the country.Here I am, in battle." A year later, the battle hasn't stopped.
Significant dates in Chavez health battle Over a span of weeks, what started with announcements about a kneeinjury became something much more serious. First, an emergencysurgery in Cuba for what government officials described as a pelvicabscess. Then, days of silence from a leader known for lengthy speeches andrapid-fire Twitter posts. Venezuelan officials went on the offensive when media reportssuggested Chavez had cancer, describing the reports as viciousrumors that were part of a conspiracy by the president's politicalopponents.
Government reports summed up the situation with the same phrase,saying Chavez was "recuperating satisfactorily" in Cuba. After weeks of speculation, the Venezuelan president broke hissilence in a somber speech from Havana on June 30, revealing thatdoctors had removed a cancerous tumor. He ended with a phrase that would become a constant refrain in hisspeeches in the coming months: "We shall overcome." But the Venezuelan president did not disclose the type of cancer hewas battling or how long he would be in Cuba for treatment. After months of treatment, Chavez declared that he was cancer-freein October. Detoxification Patches
"There are no malignant cells in this body. They don't exist," hesaid on a visit to a religious site near Venezuela's border withColombia. In mid-January, he delivered a State of the Union speech thatlasted more than nine hours. On February 20, rumors swirled on social media after Venezuelancolumnist Nelson Bocaranda, without naming sources, wrote thatChavez was in serious condition and doctors were treating him inCuba. The report drew ire from Venezuelan officials. China Fever Cooling Patch
"Regarding the rumors, dirty war of swine," Information MinisterAndres Izarra writes in a Twitter post. The next day, while touring a tractor factory in Venezuela'sBarinas state, Chavez announced that he would undergo surgery toremove a lesion from the same area where doctors removed acancerous tumor from his body last year. Soon afterward, he announced that tumor was also cancerous, and hehas been regularly undergoing radiation treatment in Cuba sincethen. Now, 10 months after Chavez first announced his cancer diagnosis,officials have released few details about his treatment. RF Wrinkle Remover Manufacturer
NeitherChavez nor anyone in his government have publicly discussed whatkind of cancer he has or provided a detailed prognosis for the57-year-old leader. This year alone, Chavez has spent more than 50 days undergoingtreatment in Havana, according to a CNN tally. Last year, he spent45 days there. Speaking to Venezuelan state TV in a phone interview from Cuba onMonday, Chavez said that he is governing his country even as heundergoes treatment in Havana.
"I am governing, fulfilling my duties as head of state and of thegovernment, but in this special situation, which I will come out ofin the coming days," he said. "Soon I will be there." For answers on Chavez's health, many have turned to detailed mediaaccounts, which, citing unnamed sources, paint a far more direpicture. Among those reporting on Chavez's condition are Bocaranda andVenezuelan doctor Jose Rafael Marquina, who practices in Floridaand has no direct connection with the case but says he hascolleagues who know what is happening. Reporters from the SpanishABC newspaper and the Brazilian O Globo daily publication also havefiled reports on Chavez's condition. According to these reports, thought to be reliable but which CNNhas been unable to verify, Chavez's illness -- initially diagnosedas prostate cancer in January 2011 -- has spread to his colon andother internal organs and to some bones.
Top Venezuelan officials maintain Chavez is beating the disease,and Chavez has repeatedly said he plans to run for re-election onOctober 7. But the Venezuelan president further fueled speculation last monthwhen he teared up during a Holy Thursday Mass as he discussed hisstruggle with cancer. "Christ ... give me life, because I still have things to do for thepeople and this country. Do not take me yet," the Chavez said.
Chavez announced in January that it was time to constitute aCouncil of State, stipulated in the Venezuelan Constitution as thehighest circle of advisers to the president. Last week, as speculation continued to surge over who would succeedif Chavez becomes to ill to govern or dies, he named 10 Venezuelansto the council. CNN's Mariano Castillo and Arthur Brice contributed to this report.
Significant dates in Chavez health battle Over a span of weeks, what started with announcements about a kneeinjury became something much more serious. First, an emergencysurgery in Cuba for what government officials described as a pelvicabscess. Then, days of silence from a leader known for lengthy speeches andrapid-fire Twitter posts. Venezuelan officials went on the offensive when media reportssuggested Chavez had cancer, describing the reports as viciousrumors that were part of a conspiracy by the president's politicalopponents.
Government reports summed up the situation with the same phrase,saying Chavez was "recuperating satisfactorily" in Cuba. After weeks of speculation, the Venezuelan president broke hissilence in a somber speech from Havana on June 30, revealing thatdoctors had removed a cancerous tumor. He ended with a phrase that would become a constant refrain in hisspeeches in the coming months: "We shall overcome." But the Venezuelan president did not disclose the type of cancer hewas battling or how long he would be in Cuba for treatment. After months of treatment, Chavez declared that he was cancer-freein October. Detoxification Patches
"There are no malignant cells in this body. They don't exist," hesaid on a visit to a religious site near Venezuela's border withColombia. In mid-January, he delivered a State of the Union speech thatlasted more than nine hours. On February 20, rumors swirled on social media after Venezuelancolumnist Nelson Bocaranda, without naming sources, wrote thatChavez was in serious condition and doctors were treating him inCuba. The report drew ire from Venezuelan officials. China Fever Cooling Patch
"Regarding the rumors, dirty war of swine," Information MinisterAndres Izarra writes in a Twitter post. The next day, while touring a tractor factory in Venezuela'sBarinas state, Chavez announced that he would undergo surgery toremove a lesion from the same area where doctors removed acancerous tumor from his body last year. Soon afterward, he announced that tumor was also cancerous, and hehas been regularly undergoing radiation treatment in Cuba sincethen. Now, 10 months after Chavez first announced his cancer diagnosis,officials have released few details about his treatment. RF Wrinkle Remover Manufacturer
NeitherChavez nor anyone in his government have publicly discussed whatkind of cancer he has or provided a detailed prognosis for the57-year-old leader. This year alone, Chavez has spent more than 50 days undergoingtreatment in Havana, according to a CNN tally. Last year, he spent45 days there. Speaking to Venezuelan state TV in a phone interview from Cuba onMonday, Chavez said that he is governing his country even as heundergoes treatment in Havana.
"I am governing, fulfilling my duties as head of state and of thegovernment, but in this special situation, which I will come out ofin the coming days," he said. "Soon I will be there." For answers on Chavez's health, many have turned to detailed mediaaccounts, which, citing unnamed sources, paint a far more direpicture. Among those reporting on Chavez's condition are Bocaranda andVenezuelan doctor Jose Rafael Marquina, who practices in Floridaand has no direct connection with the case but says he hascolleagues who know what is happening. Reporters from the SpanishABC newspaper and the Brazilian O Globo daily publication also havefiled reports on Chavez's condition. According to these reports, thought to be reliable but which CNNhas been unable to verify, Chavez's illness -- initially diagnosedas prostate cancer in January 2011 -- has spread to his colon andother internal organs and to some bones.
Top Venezuelan officials maintain Chavez is beating the disease,and Chavez has repeatedly said he plans to run for re-election onOctober 7. But the Venezuelan president further fueled speculation last monthwhen he teared up during a Holy Thursday Mass as he discussed hisstruggle with cancer. "Christ ... give me life, because I still have things to do for thepeople and this country. Do not take me yet," the Chavez said.
Chavez announced in January that it was time to constitute aCouncil of State, stipulated in the Venezuelan Constitution as thehighest circle of advisers to the president. Last week, as speculation continued to surge over who would succeedif Chavez becomes to ill to govern or dies, he named 10 Venezuelansto the council. CNN's Mariano Castillo and Arthur Brice contributed to this report.