Argentine prez wrongly diagnosed with cancer

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner never had cancer despite having been diagnosed with the disease, her spokesman said.

"The histopathological examination definitively shows the presence of nodules in both lobes of the president\\\’s thyroid gland, but dismisses the presence of carcinogenic cells, modifying the original diagnosis," said the medical report read out by presidential spokesman Alfredo Scoccimarro.

The 58-year-old Fernandez was admitted on Wednesday to the Austral Hospital to undergo a total removal of the thyroid gland because of cancerous cells detected in the right lobe of her thyroid.

Biopsies, however, found only a benign thyroid tumor. According to the medical report, it means that Fernandez will not require treatment with radioactive iodine as previously announced.

Fernandez was operated by surgeon Pedro Saco, among the most highly regarded in the country, under the supervision of the presidential medical team.

She is currently recovering at home in the south of the country.

The news was greeted with applause and cries of joy by hundreds of supporters camped outside the hospital.

A sea of flags, banners, photos of Fernandez and her husband, late president Nestor Kirchner, were seen.

One of the few people who had brief access to Fernandez at the hospital was Vice President Amado Boudou, acting head of government while the president was on medical leave.

The president\\\’s office has not yet confirmed, in light of the new diagnosis, whether Fernandez will continue with leave of absence till January 24.