President Rodrigo Duterte revealed Tuesday that his doctor told him that his Barrett’s esophagus was “nearing stage one cancer”.
The President said in his televised address that his doctor asked him to stop drinking alcohol to prevent his ailment from worsening.
Duterte previously revealed he has Barrett’s esophagus due to his alcohol intake.
“Matagal na kami sa gobyerno, magpa-retire na lang, bakit pa namin pagsayangan? Kakaunting panahon na lang ang naiwan so walang… walang… walang ganang… wala nang ganang kumain ,” Duterte, now 75 years old, said during a meeting with several Cabinet members in Davao City Monday.
(We have been in government for a long time. We will retire soon, so why would we waste it? We have a few years left, we no longer have an appetite to eat.)
Duterte added that older people like him are now more concerned about staying healthy and not how to gain wealth.
“May pera ka naman, hindi ka na makakain kay sabi ng doktor huwag kang kumain ng taba kasi mamatay ka,” he said.
(You have money but you can’t eat because the doctors said you must not eat fat because you will die.)
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Duterte reveals his Barrett’s esophagus ‘nearing stage one cancer’
“Ikaw Duterte, huwag ka nang uminom kasi’ yang Barrett mo nearing stage one ka sa cancer. So hindi na rin,” he added.
(Duterte, do not drink because your Barrett is nearing stage one cancer, so I stopped.)
The President said he and the rest of the Cabinet would serve the people and would let God judge them.
“Ang amin, ang iwan na lang ang trabaho,” he said. “Kasi pagharap namin sa Diyos and tanungin ka na, “O ikaw Rodrigo, anong ginawa mo?” Sabi ko, ‘Ginawa ko man lahat’,” he said.
(For us, we would leave behind the job we did. Because when we face God and he will ask you, ‘Rodrigo, what did you do? I’ll say ‘I did everything’.)
Malacanang recently denied that Duterte flew to Singapore to get medical treatment. Duterte has been staying in his home in Davao since early August.
“In some people, this GERD may trigger a change in the cells lining the lower esophagus, causing Barrett’s esophagus,” according to the Mayo Clinic website.