Chavez's doctors say he is cancer free

Physicians treating Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez disputed claims made by a former doctor of the socialist leader that he would die within two years from his undisclosed cancerIn the first official public comments on Chavezs health, three physicians dressed in laboratory coats at Venezuelas main military hospital said Salvador Navarrete was uninformed and had just minimal contact with the leader a decade ago.The President, from the standpoint of cancer has been diagnosed and treated early. Subject to the appropriate follow-up treatments, the current status is quite satisfactory with an excellent prognosis, Dr. Fidel Ramirez said in a televised midday press conference.Doctor Salvador Navarrete does not have any of the scientific elements necessary to make pronouncements on the state of health of President Chavez much less the type of cancer he had or the prognosis of his health, said Ramirez.Navarrete, in an open letter published by local media on Friday, said he has since fled the country, fearing for his safety after an interview published a week ago quoted him saying Chavez would be dead in two years.Navarrete attended to Chavez a decade ago and claims he is in touch with some relatives and members of his medical team.In his letter, Navarrete said the interview with Mexicos Milenio Semanal magazine was intended to combat official secrecy over Chavezs condition. He stood by his original prognosis of Chavez, which caused an uproar.Chavezs health is the all-consuming issue for the South American OPEC member nation of 29 million people, one year ahead of a presidential election where he wants to be re-elected.Chavez, 57, returned on Thursday from Cuba where he has received cancer treatments, declaring himself cancer-free in an event that included an open-top caravan to a regional Catholic shrine where he prayed and gave thanks for his recovery.The three doctors on Saturday still would not disclose the type of cancer Chavez has, four months after surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his pelvis. This was followed by four cycles of chemotherapy treatment.By common convention, oncologists say a person can be considered cured after two to five years of clean tests.