Society

Okinawa governor announces he had surgery in April to remove cancerous tumor

May 16 (Japan Times) - Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga said Tuesday that he underwent surgery in April to have a cancerous pancreatic tumor removed.

Onaga disclosed his health ailment during a news conference at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha after leaving a hospital in Urasoe earlier in the day. He underwent the operation at the hospital on April 21.

He has yet to announce whether he will run in the Okinawa gubernatorial election slated for this autumn.

At the news conference, Onaga declined to comment on his decision, while saying, â€œI want to return to work as soon as possible to fulfill my responsibilities as the governor of Okinawa.â€

Onaga said that he will receive treatment to prevent a relapse and metastasis. Revealing that his pancreatic cancer was at stage 2, Onaga said that he will have his condition monitored for the time being while taking medication.

The cancer was found to have transferred to a lymph node, and the metastatic cancer was removed during the surgery, according to Onaga.

A pancreatic tumor about 3 centimeters in diameter was found in the governorâ€™s pancreas during a re-examination that followed a comprehensive medical checkup in April. After the successful operation, Onaga recovered at the hospital.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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