Chavez expresses solidarity with former Brazilian president Lula

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday expressed solidarity with Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva after the former Brazilian president was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx. Chavez, who earlier this month said he had finished his own treatment for cancer, voiced his "deep wish" that the chemotherapy treatment will restore Lula's health, as "we can continue counting on the light of his thoughts and his leadership" in Latin America and the rest of the world. Lula, who turned 66 this week, is a longtime smoker, and has been suffering from persistent hoarseness. Hospital officials said Lula would undergo outpatient chemotherapy treatment starting Monday, while the number of chemotherapy sessions was not disclosed. After two operations and four rounds of chemotherapy treatment, Chavez said in mid-October that he was fully recovered from the cancer he was diagnosed with in June.