Ex-President Ion Iliescu Suffers from Lung Cancer

Former Romanian Presidetn Ion Iliescu is suffering from lung cancer, announced Monday the “Agrippa Ionescu” Hospital in the capital, where the former president of Romania has been hospitalized for a week. Iliescu underwent, under general anesthesia, an endobronchial procedure aimed at maintaining the patency of the upper respiratory tract, the medical unit wrote in a statement.

“Following the specialized, imaging and histopathological evaluations carried out so far, the multidisciplinary medical commission has established without a doubt that the lung disease the patient suffers from is of an oncological nature. This morning, under general anesthesia, he underwent an endobronchial procedure aimed at maintaining the patency of the upper airways. The intervention was uneventful,” the health unit’s representatives reported.

The doctors state that Ion Iliescu’s general condition remains stable and that he remains hospitalized in the intensive care unit for the necessary medical care.

“The “Prof. Dr. Agrippa Ionescu” Emergency Clinical Hospital reaffirms its commitment to transparently communicating information of public interest on this subject, in compliance with the regulations in force, but, at the same time, specifies that the only official information is that contained in the medical information bulletins sent to the public and published on the hospital’s Facebook page,” the hospital’s representatives also report.

Ion Iliescu was admitted to the “Agrippa Ionescu” Hospital on Monday, June 9, with respiratory problems. The former president had regular medical check-ups at the Elias Hospital.

In April 2019, Ion Iliescu was operated on by doctors at the “C.C. Iliescu” Institute, his diagnosis being fluid pericarditis – cardiac tamponade. In recent years, the former president has not made any public appearances, but he has been sending messages on his blog.

The last such message was on May 19, in which he congratulated Nicuşor Dan on his election as president.