Arafat 'does not' have leukemia
2004-10-30 18:00
Paris - Ailing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, in Paris for urgent treatment of a mysterious illness, does not have leukemia, a Palestinian diplomat said on Saturday.
Doctors have "excluded for the time being any possibility of leukemia," Leila Shahid, the Palestinian envoy to France, told reporters.
"We can say his general condition between yesterday and today... is much better both physically and psychologically," she said in a brief statement. She refused to answer questions.
Physicians specialising in leukemia had examined Arafat on Saturday to determine whether he was suffering from the blood cancer, Palestinian sources said earlier in the day.
Early test results were expected by Saturday evening.
The 75-year-old Arafat has been sick for two weeks and blood tests have revealed he has a low platelet count - a possible symptom of leukemia, other cancers or a number of other maladies.
Arafat received a transfusion of platelets shortly after being rushed Friday to France for treatment at the Hopital d'Instruction des Armees de Percy, a military teaching hospital southwest of Paris that specializes in blood disorders and trauma care.
- AP