Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Saturday medical tests following his cancer treatment show he is in good health, but provided few additional details about an illness that has become an obsession in the OPEC nation.
The former soldier's health is seen a key factor in his re-election bid because a serious relapse of his cancer could limit his ability to campaign ahead of the Oct. 7 vote and potentially tip the balance toward opposition challenger Henrique Capriles.
Chavez, who has undergone three operations for cancer in the pelvic region, said he had taken exams including a CAT scan and a magnetic resonance imaging scan as part of scheduled checks.
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans]"This was a few hours ago. Everything turned out absolutely fine," Chavez said in a chat with reporters at the presidential palace in which he appeared healthy and in good spirits. "After the operation and the radiotherapy, I feel very good."[/FONT]
Chavez has steadily increased his public appearances after weeks of keeping a low profile and communicating mostly via Twitter or phone calls to state television as he recovered from grueling radiotherapy.
On Monday, he will officially register his candidacy amid a rally of supporters that is likely to be his biggest since he announced his cancer diagnosis almost a year ago.
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