Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was diagnosed with leukemia and a lung infection less than 24 hours after being rushed to intensive care.
Concerns for the 86-year-old’s health grew after his spokesman said he was pushed back to Milan’s San Raffaele hospital days after being discharged yesterday.
The billionaire media tycoon, who is romantically involved with 33-year-old Forza Italia MP Marta Fascina, was treated in the intensive care unit of the hospital’s cardiac unit after suffering from breathing problems.
The leader of right-wing party Forza Italia, who has suffered flare-ups in recent years, has now been confirmed as suffering from chronic myelomonocytic leukemia – a rare blood cancer characterized by high white blood cell counts.
“Berlusconi is currently in intensive care treating a lung infection” and suffering from “chronic myelomonocytic leukemia,” doctors at San Raffaele Hospital said in a statement.
Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani told state television RAI this morning: “I spoke to Professor Zangrillo this morning [Berlusconi’s personal doctor] and he told me that Berlusconi had a good night’s sleep and that his condition was stable.’
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (pictured) was diagnosed with leukemia and a lung infection less than 24 hours after being admitted to intensive care
Berlusconi, 86, is in a relationship with 33-year-old Forza Italia MP Marta Fascina (pictured together in September).
Berlusconi’s son Luigi, 34, and daughter Marina, 56, were pictured arriving at Milan’s hospital to visit their ailing father
Berlusconi’s brother Paolo (who arrives in hospital today) told reporters last night: ‘He’s a rock so he’ll make it this time too’
Tajani, a longtime Berlusconi ally within Forza Italia, noted that Berlusconi had overcome a series of health issues.
WHAT IS CHRONIC MYELOMONOCYTIC LEUKEMIA?
Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) is a rare type of blood cancer in which there are too many monocytes in the blood and bone marrow.
Monocytes are a type of white blood cell.
In CMML, the bone marrow produces abnormal monocytes. They are not fully developed and cannot work normally.
These abnormal blood cells either remain in the bone marrow or are destroyed before entering the bloodstream.
The World Health Organization (WHO) included CMML in a group of blood cancers called myeloproliferative and myelodysplastic disorders.
Source: Cancer Research UK
“We all want to be optimistic and hope that the lion will return to take over the party soon. He is our political leader and of course he never gives up,” he told the broadcaster.
The party then released a statement saying Berlusconi spoke to senior Forza Italia allies that morning and called for “maximum effort” in Parliament. “The country needs us,” he was quoted as saying.
One of Berlusconi’s sons, Luigi, 34, arrived at Milan hospital to visit his ailing father, followed by his daughter Marina, 56, and brother Paolo, 73.
Berlusconi has previously overcome prostate cancer, which he described as “a months-long nightmare”.
But it was his battle with Covid in 2020 that he described as the “most dangerous challenge” of his life.
The three-time Italian prime minister, who has been embroiled in several scandals – mostly linked to his infamous “Bunga Bunga” parties – was hospitalized in 2006 after fainting with a mild heart problem and underwent heart surgery at a US hospital in January 2007 .
The former AC Milan owner, who also underwent major heart surgery to replace an aortic valve in 2016, has had a pacemaker for several years.
In January 2022, he was hospitalized again for a reported urinary tract infection.
As Paolo left the hospital last night, he told reporters: “He’s a rock so he’ll make it this time too.”
Berlusconi was admitted to intensive care at Milan’s San Raffaele Hospital (pictured) yesterday, days after being discharged from the same hospital
Berlusconi (pictured 1980) has suffered repeated bouts of illness in recent years after contracting Covid in 2020
After being discharged from hospital for an earlier issue on March 30, Berlusconi appeared to be recovering as he took to social media to thank “everyone who has wanted to send a thought or a sign of affection these days.” .
He said he was already back at work, “ready and determined to commit as I have always done to the country I love.”
Berlusconi, who won a seat in Italy’s Senate in September’s parliamentary elections, has sparked controversy in recent months with his criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, putting him at odds with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The billionaire, whose Forza Italia party is part of the ruling coalition government, has been accused – but acquitted this year – of paying young starlets and others for “silence and lies” about his notoriously hedonistic soirees, which he has always described as elegant dinners.
Berlusconi won a seat in Italy’s Senate after years of scandals in September’s general election
The ruling was the culmination of a legal battle that began in 2010 when then-Prime Minister Berlusconi was accused of abusing his power to protect a young Moroccan nightclub dancer, Karima El-Mahroug.
Berlusconi, who has five children, was temporarily suspended from political office after a 2013 tax fraud conviction, for which he served a community sentence.
But he returned to the political front and was reelected as a senator last year.
The media mogul, who first entered politics in 1994, is currently out of government.