UPDATE 1-Brazil's Lula starts preventive radiotherapy after skin lesion removal

Lula ⁠is expected to run for a fourth non-consecutive ​term in October and currently leads right-wing challenger ⁠Flavio Bolsonaro in several opinion polls for a potential ⁠second-round runoff. He ​is Brazil's oldest sitting president and has had some health scares, including emergency ⁠surgeries in 2024 to treat and prevent bleeding in ⁠his ⁠head.

Brazilian President ‌Luiz Inacio Lula ​da Silva started preventive radiotherapy treatment on Monday after ‌having a skin lesion removed, doctors treating the 80-year-old leftist leader said in a medical note.

"Following ‌the removal of a basal cell ‌lesion on April 24, it was decided to proceed with complementary treatment with preventive, superficial radiotherapy on the ⁠scalp," ​the doctors said, ⁠adding Lula will maintain his daily activities without restrictions. Lula ⁠is expected to run for a fourth non-consecutive ​term in October and currently leads right-wing challenger ⁠Flavio Bolsonaro in several opinion polls for a potential ⁠second-round runoff.

He ​is Brazil's oldest sitting president and has had some health scares, including emergency ⁠surgeries in 2024 to treat and prevent bleeding in ⁠his ⁠head. Lula was treated for throat cancer in 2011.