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Yudhoyono to be treated overseas for prostate cancer
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ormer president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is to be treated overseas for prostate cancer, his personal aide has revealed, following a diagnosis by a team of state doctors.
Ossy Dermawan, a Democratic Party stalwart and personal secretary to the nation’s sixth president, confirmed the plan in a press release on Tuesday amid rumors of his ailing health.
“It is true that Bapak [Yudhoyono] will be going overseas in the near future for a medical check-up and treatment. According to a diagnosis by the [state] doctor’s team, he suffers from early stage prostate cancer,” Ossy said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Democratic Party senior politician Syarief said that the former president will be undergoing treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the United States, for about one and a half months.
“God willing, the family and his sons will accompany him [there],” Syarief told reporters on Tuesday.
Both Ossy and Syarief confirmed that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had been made aware of the former president’s condition and plan to undergo treatment abroad.
“President Jokowi responded well and said that one or two members of the presidential medical team would assist the treatment,” Ossy said.
Read also: Yudhoyono congratulates Jokowi for election victory
State secretary spokesman Faldo Maldini said that the team had been in touch with doctors who would be treating Yudhoyono but did not reveal further details.
“The doctors [are the ones who have the capacity] to explain the details of the disease and how intensive the treatment will be,” Faldo said in a statement.
Faldo added that existing regulations allowed presidential doctors to form a team to handle specific health problems of incumbent and former presidents and vice presidents.
In 2019, Yudhoyono’s wife, former first lady Kristiani Herrawati, better known as Ani Yudhoyono, passed away in Singapore after battling blood cancer for months.
Read also: Former first lady Ani Yudhoyono dies at 67
Ani was known as an outspoken supporter of her husband and sons’ political endeavors.
In the same year, Yudhoyono’s elderly mother Siti Habibah was laid to rest after weeks of treatment for her ailing health.
Yudhoyono, who was widely seen as possessing the personal traits and professional skills necessary to restore prosperity and stability to the country, entered office in 2004 and was reelected in 2009 after securing a landslide victory over his challenger Megawati Soekarnoputri.
The retired army general, however, was not without controversy, not only by becoming Indonesia’s first leader to record music and produce albums while in office, but also by displaying an extreme sensitivity to criticism during his tenure.
