Former Philippine president Aquino has colon cancer, children say

Mar 24, 2008, 10:36 GMT

Manila - Former Philippine president Corazon Aquino has been diagnosed with colon cancer and is to undergo chemotherapy, her children said Monday.

The 74-year-old icon of Philippine democracy underwent tests after suffering from a persistent cough, weight loss and loss of appetite in December.

'The results show that our mother is suffering from cancer of the colon,' Kris Aquino, one of Aquino's daughters, said in a televised statement along with her brother Senator Benigno Aquino III.

'It's a very difficult time for our family, most especially our mother,' she added. 'We respectfully ask that she be accorded her privacy.'

Senator Aquino said his mother would under chemotherapy starting Tuesday with a 'mild, continuous dose.'

They called on Filipinos to pray for their mother, who became president after a bloodless people's power uprising ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos in February 1986.

Aquino's husband, senator Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino Jr, was assassinated in August 1983 after returning to the Philippines from exile in the United States. His death galvanized the opposition against Marcos.

Former president Aquino is currently at the forefront of calls for the resignation of current President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo over allegations of corruption and electoral fraud.