Leadership and Cancer

When should leaders disclose to their countries that they have cancer? Should they do so when it is in the early stage? Mid-stage? Terminal stage? The recent devastating earthquake in Haiti brought to mind the battle with prostate cancer of its president, Rene Preval. Mr. Preval was first diagnosed in 2001 after having completed his first term as president. After treatment by doctors in Cuba, his cancer was declared "in remission". Following the disastrous administrations of Jean-Bertrand Aristide and Boniface Alexandre, Mr. Preval was persuaded to run for president and was re-elected in 2006 after a contentious and divisive election. Shortly afterward, the newly elected president announced that the cancer had returned and that he would once again travel to Cuba for tests and treatment. Since then, the seriousness of Preval's cancer has been a mystery, with Preval himself saying only that "he feels physically and mentally well".

General David Petraeus, Commander, US Central Command and previous Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq was diagnosed with an early stage of prostate cancer in February of 2009 and underwent two months of successful radiation treatment. The diagnosis and treatment was not made public until October of 2009, because the general and his family considered this a "private matter" and because it "did not interfere with his duties".

Fidel Castro, former President of Cuba, has been rumored to be ill with cancer, but public disclosures only state that he has a "serious illness" and that he is "fighting a great battle" to regain his health.

The reasons for withholding information of cancer diagnosis and treatment of leaders from the public are not complex. In countries that, unlike the United States, have no Constitution that details a line of succession of its leadership, news of a cancer diagnosis can bring about widespread chaos, confusion and, in some cases, coupes and other revolutionary actions. The environment created by such an announcement can become an opportunity for "outside infiltration" by groups seeking to gain a foothold to promote their ideals.

When President Franklin Roosevelt died in 1945, the nation was shocked and in mourning. Grown men literally cried as his body made its way to its final resting place. In today's 24-7 cable news and internet environment, it is difficult for this generation to conceive of a time in which the nation's leader could be in declining health for months and the majority of the American people not know it. But such was the case. Though President Roosevelt did not die from cancer, his death and the succession of Vice President Harry Truman to the presidency demonstrated the resiliency of our Constitution and its provisions that enabled us to avoid the chaos that would have befallen other countries. Had Mr. Roosevelt been president during the information and technological age of today, the same would have been true. Can other countries say the same?

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