Berlusconi says he believes he'll recover 'once again'
Share this @internewscast.com

ROME – Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said he believes he will overcome the lung infection caused by a chronic leukemia that has hospitalized him in intensive care, Italian daily Il Giornale reported on Friday.

“It’s hard, but I’ll make it once again,” the 86-year-old media mogul said in a phone call with Il Giornale’s editor in chief, Augusto Minzolini.

“I managed, also in delicate and difficult situations, to pull myself up,” Berlusconi added, according to the report.

The media tycoon and three-time premier spent a second consecutive night in intensive care at Milan’s San Raffaele Hospital, where his doctors on Thursday signed off on a medical bulletin saying that he has had leukemia “for some time,” but that the cancer of the blood cells is in a “persistent chronic phase.”

The statement was the first official word from doctors since Berlusconi was admitted to San Raffaele on Wednesday.

“The current treatment strategy envisions treatment of the pulmonary infection” as well as specialized treatment “aimed at limiting the negative effects” of the chronic leukemia, the bulletin stated.

On Friday morning, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, quoting Berlusconi’s personal doctor Alberto Zangrillo, reported that Berlusconi was alert and was responding to the treatments. Tajani is the coordinator of Forza Italia, the political party that Berlusconi created some 30 years ago.

Berlusconi was admitted to an intensive care unit at San Raffaele Hospital on Wednesday for treatment of what aides indicated was a respiratory problem stemming from a previous infection.

The former premier and now senator had left the same hospital a week earlier after several days of tests.

Doctors said the kind of leukemia afflicting Berlusconi usually appears in people of advanced age and is characterized by an increase in white blood cells known as monocytes.

Treatment for older patients can involve a stem cell transplant. But that could be difficult, according to an Italian nonprofit association dedicated to combating leukemia. Another treatment would involve controlling the white blood cell count.

The last years have seen Berlusconi suffer numerous health problems, including heart ailments and COVID-19 in 2020, which saw him hospitalized then in critical condition with pneumonia.

He has had a pacemaker for years, underwent heart surgery to replace an aortic valve in 2016 and overcame prostate cancer decades ago.

Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Newsom Plays ‘Moderate’: Vetoes Transgender Custody Bill

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoed a bill Friday that would have…

Lost the memo not to upstage the bride, Phoebe? Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery marries Phoebe Waller-Bridge's brother in star-studded ceremony as the Fleabag creator watches on, beaming with happiness

The producers of Downton Abbey could not have created a better wedding…

Flamingos on Lake Michigan? Tropical birds visit the shoreline in a first for Wisconsin

Wildlife biologists hypothesized that the flamingos were pushed north in late August…

Armenian Celebrities Rally To Support Homeland In Nagorno Karabakh Dispute

The Los Angeles Armenian American community is ramping up its public concerns…

Cleveland Browns vs. Tennessee Titans Week 3: Preview, point spread, how to watch

The Cleveland Browns return home to face the Tennessee Titans in their…

‘Doctor Who’ Unveils 60th Anniversary Specials Trailer With Neil Patrick Harris

An exclusive new trailer revealing more of what’s to come when Doctor…

Hung Cao: Virginians Only Know Sen. Tim Kaine for Getting ‘Stuck on I-95’

Hung Cao, a Navy combat veteran and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate…

Fletcher High School football game ends early after fight erupts, causes gunfire scare

NEPTUNE BEACH, Fla. – Fletcher High School’s principal abruptly ended a Friday…

Michael Symon launches River Roots Barrel Co.

Michael Symon will be at Minotti’s Wine and Spirits liquor store in…

Columbia Co. man pulled out gun, killed woman in front of deputy

The deputy then engaged the man, shooting him three times and killing…

‘Our hearts are shattered…’: 6 people, including 3 children, dead after train crashes into SUV on tracks

The five passengers, who were reportedly all “violently ejected” from the SUV,…

Man shot in leg on Jacksonville's Northside, police say

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a 20-year-old man was found…