This Article is From Sep 24, 2014

Doctors Say Nepal PM Free of Cancer: Minister

Doctors Say Nepal PM Free of Cancer: Minister

File photo of Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala (Reuters)

Kathmandu: Doctors have given a clean bill of health to Nepal's Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, following successful radiotherapy for lung cancer, the country's information minister said on Wednesday.

Mr Koirala, 75, travelled to New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center last week for follow-up consultations after he was diagnosed with cancer in June.

"The doctors in the US have given the prime minister a clean chit of health, he has been recuperating well," said Minendra Rijal, minister for information and communications.

According to a statement published by the prime minister's press office, the doctors conducted scans and found that Mr Koirala's lungs are now free of the spots and lesions detected in June.

Mr Koirala, who was a habitual cigarette smoker until he was diagnosed with tongue cancer eight years ago, has been visiting the New York medical facility for annual follow-ups after undergoing surgery.

"It is good news that he is well, especially since the country is at a critical juncture when he needs to facilitate the political process," minister Rijal told AFP.

Mr Koirala took office in February after winning elections on a pledge to deliver a long-delayed constitution to the Himalayan nation within a year.

Nepal has endured prolonged political limbo since 2006 when Maoist rebels signed a peace deal, ending a ten-year civil war and paving the way for constituent assembly polls two years later.
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