President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva began radiotherapy treatment on the scalp this Monday (25). The procedure is preventative in nature and seeks to reduce the risk of recurrence of skin cancer removed in April.
“President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was at the Sírio-Libanês Hospital, Brasília unit today. After the removal of a basal cell lesion on April 24, we opted for complementary treatment with preventive superficial radiotherapy to the scalp, which began this Monday”, states the medical bulletin.
The president must undergo another 14 radiotherapy sessions. Each application lasts around two minutes and will be carried out at the hospital itself, in the federal capital.
See what is known about the president’s health condition
On April 24, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva went to the Sírio-Libanês hospital, in São Paulo, to have a basal cell carcinoma removed and to perform an infiltration in the wrist to treat tendonitis in the thumb of his right hand.
The removal of basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer, was carried out by dermatologist Cristina Abdalla in about an hour and was uneventful. At the time, a biopsy was also performed.
— This is very common, it is the most common skin damage caused by the sun. When it grows, we need to remove it, because otherwise it grows, it doesn’t heal, it bleeds. But it is a localized lesion, and the procedure is for us to remove it and examine it — she said, in an interview with journalists.
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Basal cell carcinoma originates in basal cells, which are found in the deepest layer of the epidermis (the top layer of the skin), mainly due to high exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. Therefore, it appears as a red spot on easily exposed areas of the body, such as the face, ears, neck, scalp, shoulders and back.
Furthermore, it is treatable when detected early and has a low mortality rate, unlike more aggressive types of skin cancer, such as melanoma.
On the same occasion, Lula underwent infiltration in the wrist to treat tendonitis in the thumb of his right hand. Tendinitis is the inflammation of a tendon, the structure that joins muscle to bone.
In the infiltration procedure, corticosteroids, hyaluronic acid or anesthetics may be used to contain local pain. It is usually done in situations where the pain does not stop with a period of rest or physiotherapy.
On the 18th of this month, Lula underwent a consultation at the Sírio-Libanês Hospital, in São Paulo, to monitor the progress of the removal of a skin cancer lesion on his scalp. According to a medical bulletin released by the hospital, he “presents a satisfactory evolution, as expected, and without complications”.
But in February, the patient had already undergone a procedure to remove keratosis on his scalp. According to information from the Presidency’s Communication Secretariat, the president’s keratosis was caused by exposure to the sun and he was treated with cauterization that lasted around two minutes, at a dermatology clinic in São Paulo.
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