FORMER House President Spyros Kyprianou vowed yesterday that he will do everything in his power to beat the cancer he was diagnosed with this week.
Kyprianou put on a brave face to address an emotional news conference he called at his Nicosia home to “thank people for their support”. The 68-year-old politician, also a former President of the Republic, has been diagnosed with malignant lung and pelvic cancer, for which he began radiotherapy treatment on Wednesday.
Doctors at the Bank of Cyprus Oncology Centre said the lung cancer had probably given rise to the bone cancer. Kyprianou will now begin a course of chemotherapy to combat the lung tumour this week, while continuing the treatment for the pelvic cancer.
His doctors have said they are confident they can “control” Kyprianou’s illness, provided he responds well to treatment.
“I am fully aware of the severity of my condition, but I will not give up,” he told journalists. “This is a battle for life. I have fought other battles for my health before, but this is the most difficult.” Kyprianou was at times unable to hide his distress.
“I will do what I can to beat this disease. I will do as my doctors say because I trust them fully,” the former President said.
Kyprianou said he will attend the meeting of the National Council tomorrow because “I will never give up the struggle for the solution of the Cyprus Problem, not for as long as I live”.
“My family and the people of Cyprus give me so much strength,” he said. “I am grateful for that love.”
Kyprianou also said that life must go on as usual: “I will finish writing my memoirs and I will work on the Cyprus Problem.”
He said he would put forward some ideas on the Cyprus Problem next week.
After the news conference ended, many reporters expressed their best wishes and support for Kyprianou.
“I will fight this battle with faith and determination and with your love,” he replied. “Smile,” he told some reporters who were clearly upset.
Kyprianou said he does not plan to travel abroad for treatment as his doctors do not deem it necessary for the time being.
He will continue to be treated at home and through visits to the oncology centre.
When he stepped down as House of Representatives President earlier this year, Kyprianou drew the curtain on a 40-year political career that included a decade as President, between 1978 and 1988, and 12 years as Foreign minister before that.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
