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Begum Kulsoom Nawaz, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's wife, has reportedly been diagnosed with throat cancer, a high-level PML-N source said on Tuesday.
A senior PML-N party leader close to the Sharif family confirmed to Dawn that the cancer had been detected in London where Begum Kulsoom was undergoing medical checkups.
The PML-N source speaking to Dawn said that she was likely to opt for chemotheraphy instead of surgery. However, he added, this is an initial diagnosis and further information will be made available as more tests are conducted.
Geo News on Tuesday also reported that Begum Kulsoom had been diagnosed with throat cancer, citing doctors in the United Kingdom. The doctors added that the cancer is treatable.
Kulsoom Nawaz left for London unexpectedly on August 17 for a medical checkup.
Her flight departed hours ahead of her scheduled appearance before the Election Commission of Pakistan, where her nomination papers were to be scrutinised for the upcoming NA-120 by-poll on Sept 17.
The seat fell vacant after Nawaz Sharif was disqualified by the Supreme Court in the Panamagate case on July 28 on charges of concealing his salary from a Dubai-based company, which he claims he had never received.
Geo News reported that Maryam Nawaz, Sharif's daughter, will run the election campaign in Begum Kulsoom's absence.
Comments (65) Closed
Almighty bless the strong lady and give her quick recovery may be she should give second though as a candidate in up coming NA 120 Lahore seat.
Keeping politics aside, wishing a healthy and speedy recovery to Kulsoom Nawaz.
Wishing her quick recovery.
Hope get well soon
Will she go to SKMH in Lahore for her treatment?
Wish you speedy and fast recovery madam, with Gods help you can beat cancer with ease.
Treatable and curable hopefully. Best of wishes for the ex first lady.
Very sad, wish her a speedy recovery. God bless..
She should focus on her health. Best wishes for her quick recovery. Ameen!
Wish you speedy and fast recovery madam
Get well soon.
You might consider Shoukat khanum for treatment. Wish you speedy recovery.
Good Luck!
I pray for a quick recovery of this great lady. May the Almighty God protect the whole noble Sharif family. Pakistan needs them.
wishing a quick recovery! she should rest now.
wish her good health and speedy recovery...
We wish he quick recovery. May be she should get best treatment at Shaukat Khanum Cancer hospital in Lahore
Best wishes and prayers for her quick recovery.
Wishing her speedy recovery. Next stop Shaukat Khanum, Lahore then?
@Mohammed She is already in UK, and I would assume that is under treatment now. I wish her well, and hope Mr Sharif consider giving her his best attention, and leave the politics for another day.
Wishing her quick recovering,
Wish her complete recovery. Under these circumstances, her priority must be first and foremost to her own health and well being, as it should above and beyond everything else.
Though not a fan of Sharif family (and most other political families for that matter), I wish her all the best and pray for her speedy and full recovery.
I would also like to pray for the health and well-being of all common people of Pakistan (as well as common people elsewhere), as unlike elites, they do not have such medical facilities available to them and more often than not their serious illnesses (like cancer) go undetected, causing loss of so many lives which could otherwise have been saved if a good health system is available to them.
Wishing her get well soon
Wishig her full recovery and good health
Hope , pray, and wish she gets to her former excellence soon.
Regardless of political affiliation, we all pray for her smooth recovery.
May she recover soon. I am happy to see people from All sides of the political divide praying for her recovery. Gives me hope.
Sorry to hear that.
Throat cancer people don't talk well; Have God mercy please quit from election and get rest
I was also diagnosed with Oral Cancer (Cancer of Tongue-T2N0) In 2007. I underwent surgery followed by Radiotherapy. So far the cancer has not resurfaced. As regards the report that she has told NO to surgery and has opted for Chemotherapy, my understanding is that it is not patient's choice but determined on the basis of thickness of the tumour, area affected by the cancer, physical and mental condition of the patient etc. I will pray for her early recovery.
R. S. Menon, Bangalore
Am a PTI voter from Lahore. Our prayers are for her full recovery.
As PTI supporter, I wish her best of health. And hope they recognize pain and suffering of this diseases which poor Pakistani facing.
I hope Mrs. Shareef is fully cured and whatever decision family/doctor takes about chemo/surgery works perfectly fine for her. I also want to remind everyone including myself that this life is very short and we don't know what's next in bag for us. All the tangibles that we gather in our lifetime will stay here and what we will be taking with us are our deeds.
Best
wishing her a healthy life
Wish her and all cancer sufferers a speedy recovery-
Sorry to find out this news, I wish her speedy recovery. She should focus on her health and withdraw from her candidacy of NA-120. Wishing her best of health.
Wishing her complete and rapid recovery.
She should contact SKMH for treatment. Their success rate in treating cancer is very high. May God give her a happy healthy life, Ameen.
@Mohammed : What a shallow comment. SKMH is not the only hospital in Pakistan for cancer treatment. Grow up and rise above politics.
God bless her.
I pray for her early recovery.
Wish her complete recovery. Medical diagnosis should be confidential and not discussed in public unless family wants it otherwise.
Does she know that hospitals in lahore have multiple patients in single bed. One example is sheikh zayed hospital... Why should I pray for her if she has no sympathy with people of Pakistan? Still I feel pitty for her and hope she will feel the same for common people.
@Ali so true, only if we truly understand
Participating in politics will be additional stress in this situation. Nawaz Sharif family should make a pragmatic decision.
They have plenty of money for treatment, I am sorry she has this problem but think of the poor in Pakistan who can not afford these treatments because of PML-N policy, sounds cold but it true
Why do senior Politicians and their families travel abroad for their Medical check up's ? Are Medical Services not up to par with international standards at home ? If not why aren't the politicians ensuring they are ? But, yet they are good for the voters ???
I sincerely hope that she recovers and gets well soon as I honestly think she is a simple person and a housewife. However, she could have gotten this check up at Shaukat Khanum Cancer hospital in Lahore. In any case, the Sharifs need to understand that Begum Kulsoom's health is more important than politics and they should not put her under stress.
a very courageous lady indeed may God help her
I wish her rapid recovery.
Very sorry to hear this sad news. May her treatment get her speedy recovery.
Prayers from india
wishing her speedy recovery , she is a brave woman and capable of fighting it out
Best wishes for a full recovery.
Shawkat Khanum is a very good place to get treatment for her malady. As good as London. Wishing her all the best & may Almighty God grant her full recovery.
@R. S. Menon you are absolutely right. First of all throat cancer can not be diagnosed with blood tests and biopsy is needed to confirm clinical suspicion. Surgery is the first option for cure followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. To say that family has decided chemotherapy is taken with pinch of salt. I am clinician myself.
I am not PML N supporter but politics aside and I pray from the bottom of my heart for her speedy recovery and wish her long and healthy life.
Wish her a good health. Feel sad to read this news.
Get well Soon Kulsoom Nawaz. Not a fan of PMNL at all.
@R. S. Menon Glad you are doing well. May Almighty give you good health and happiness. Prayers for you my brother from Sindh, Pakistan.
God Bless You and your family.
I can't believe in it. This can be a political probe. If it's true l wish her health .
From personal experience, Cancer is a dreaded disease. I hope and wish she beats it--all the best to her and her family.
We shall pray for her wellness. Gods blessings.
May Alla give His shifa to mrs. Kulsoom. There is good treatment for early stage cancer.