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Asma al-Assad, Wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Treated for Breast Cancer

Controversial first lady has “a malignant breast tumor that was discovered early.”

Asma al-Assad, wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has breast cancer, according to posts from government social-media accounts. A picture of Asma, 42, sitting next to her husband as she receives intravenous treatment was posted on the president’s Facebook and Twitter accounts with the caption: “With strength, confidence and faith, Mrs. Asma al-Assad starts the first stage of treatment for a malignant tumor in the breast that was detected early.” The two have been married since 2000 and have three children. Bashar al-Assad has led the country as it is mired in a bloody civil war that has left hundreds of thousands of people dead. He’s also been accused of using chemical weapons on his own people and directing his troops to bomb hospitals, rescue workers, and medical clinics all over his ravaged country.