Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was admitted to the Fundación Santa Fe Hospital in Bogotá on Tuesday morning, various media outlets reported.
“During a routine medical check-up, an increase in prostate antigens was detected,” explained a doctor from the Fundación Santa Fe in a statement on Tuesday. Prostate antigens are used to detect prostate cancer.
“Given this change, we have recommended that the president complete an additional study as soon as possible using technology that is still not available in this country. The best place to do so is the oncology center of the Johns Hopkins Hospital.”
Santos announced that he will travel to Baltimore for treatment on Wednesday and return to Colombia on Friday.
“This news took my family and me by surprise,” he said.
Santos previously underwent an operation for prostate cancer in 2012.
As many as 8,000 new cases of prostate cancer are reported each year in Colombia, and the number appears to be on the rise, according to a 2015 report in El Espectador.
Santos said that he will try to take advantage of the trip to the United States to speak with senators regarding the new peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group.
