BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian first lady Asma Assad has been diagnosed with leukemia, the office of President Bashar Assad announced Tuesday. The president’s wife was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia “after presenting with several symptoms and following a comprehensive series of medical tests and examinations,” the statement said. She will “adhere to a specialized treatment protocol that includes stringent infection prevention measures” and “will temporarily withdraw from all direct engagements” as part of the treatment plan, it added. Acute myeloid leukemia is an aggressive cancer of the bone marrow and the blood. Asma Assad has previously been treated for breast cancer. In August 2019, she announced that she was “completely” free of the disease a year after her diagnosis. Born and raised in the United Kingdom, although her family is originally from central Syria, the first lady is a powerful and divisive figure. She is under western sanctions and has been a highly controversial figure in the course of the Syrian conflict. |
West Coast Regional Council "closely monitoring" Taylorville Resource ParkEDITORIAL: Diet ethics panels failing to unravel the tangled LDP funding scandal'Very few grey areas': Greens urged to front on Golriz Ghahraman shoplifting allegationsFrench PM Élisabeth Borne resigns ahead of expected reshuffleLuxon assures Ukraine's Zelensky of New Zealand's 'strong' supportPakistan exUS newsman who created no'We found the bastard': Aotearoa's 10th meteorite discovered'Time to go home' French farmers told following two weeks of protestEleanor Coppola, matriarch of a filmmaking family, dies at 87