Chavez:treatment going well

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Thursday his second round of chemotherapy treatment is going well, and he will "win the battle" against cancer, after a tumor was removed from his pelvic area in June. "As you already know, I am here in Havana. I am bedridden and receiving chemotherapy from Monday until Friday," said Chavez in a telephone conversation with Venezuelan state television network VTV. Chavez, 57, underwent an operation June 20 in Cuba to remove a cancerous tumor in his pelvic area. After a brief return to Caracas, he traveled back to Havana on July 16 for a week to undergo his first chemotherapy treatment. Chavez went back to Cuba for more treatment on August 6. "Friday will be the last session and we will be in Venezuela soon. God willing, everything will end well," added Chavez. "This is a battle we are winning, and that we will win." The president has not said what type of cancer he has or given details of his health. During the call Chavez, a former army lieutenant colonel, accused the opposition of "attacking" Venezuela's military and of "conspiring" against his government with US assistance. Before his most recent trip to Cuba, Chavez appeared on Venezuelan television sporting thin glasses and a bald head. He joked about what he called his "new look." In power since 1999, Chavez is hoping to secure a third six-year presidential term in 2012 elections. Cuba, the only one-party communist regime in the Americas, is Chavez's closest regional ally. Chavez has cut back his marathon speeches during which he often drives home his self-styled 21st century socialism, and has turned more introspective since going public with his cancer.