Singapore PM’s surgery for prostate cancer ‘successful’

In this May 22, 2014 file photo, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong delivers a keynote speech at the 20th International Conference on The Future of Asia in Tokyo. AP

SINGAPORE — Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong underwent successful surgery for prostate cancer on Monday and is expected to recover fully, his office said.

It is the second bout with cancer for 63-year-old Lee, who had also undergone chemotherapy for lymphoma in 1993 and is now in remission.

“Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s surgery was successful,” his office said in a statement.

The statement quoted Christopher Cheng, the lead urologist at the Singapore General Hospital who carried out the operation, as saying: “The surgery went very smoothly, and he is expected to recover fully.”

Cheng confirmed that Lee’s prostate cancer is not linked to his previous lymphoma, the statement added.

Lee, son of Singapore’s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) prostate test in January which showed “suspicious lesions” and a subsequent biopsy confirmed the cancer.

Lee, who has been prime minister since August 2004, opted for the surgical treatment on the advice of his doctors.

News of his illness came amid widespread expectations that the next general elections will be held before they are due in early 2017, possibly this year.

In the last election, held in May 2011, Lee’s People’s Action Party (PAP), which has governed Singapore since 1959, suffered its worst setback after a large district was wrested by the opposition and its share of the popular vote plunged.

After the election, Lee launched reforms to address voters’ gripes over the large influx of foreign workers and immigrants into the compact city-state as well as the rising cost of living.

Before entering politics, Lee was a brigadier-general in the Singapore Armed Forces.

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