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Argentine President Cristina Fernandez has thyroid cancer and will undergo surgery next month, her government said on Tuesday, adding that the cancerous cells had not spread.

Fernandez, 58, was easily elected to a second four-year term in October, vowing to deepen her unorthodox policies despite complaints from business leaders who say her heavy-handed management of the economy is stifling investment.

Fernandez was diagnosed with a papillary carcinoma that has not metastasized, said her spokesman, Alfredo Scoccimarro. The operation is scheduled to take place on Jan 4 and she is expected to take a leave of absence until Jan 24.

"The thyroid gland will have to be removed," said Buenos Aires cancer specialist Julio Moreno. "The prognosis is very good. The chances of being cured are 90 to 98 percent."

The cancer was detected last week during a routine check. Papillary carcinoma is the most common type of thyroid cancer and normally affects people under the age of 40, especially women.

A skilled orator fond of glamorous clothes, high heels and make-up, Fernandez still wears black as she mourns her husband and closest adviser, former President Nestor Kirchner, who died late last year.

When Kirchner died, many thought it spelled the end of the couple's idiosyncratic blend of state intervention, nationalist rhetoric and the championing of human rights in grain-exporting powerhouse Argentina, the world's No 3 soybean supplier.

But Fernandez pulled off a remarkable comeback on the back of a brisk economic expansion and an outpouring of public sympathy. She was re-elected with 54 percent of the vote, promising to stay true to her policies despite objections from Wall Street and international investors.

Latin America's No 3 economy is growing at nearly 9 percent a year. But a worsening global economic outlook combined with entrenched high inflation at home are seen reining in Argentina's growth to about 4 percent next year.

Fernandez is one of several Latin American leaders to have cancer. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez underwent chemotherapy earlier this year, while Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo's lymphatic cancer is in remission.

And former Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is being successfully treated for a cancerous tumor on his larynx, according to his doctors.

Questions:

1. Which world leader will undergo surgery for thyroid cancer?

2. How old is she?

3. What other Latin American leaders are fighting cancer?

Answers:

1. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez.

2. 58.

3. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo and former Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

（中國日報網英語點津 Rosy 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the US, including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.