The office of President Bashar Assad has announced that Syrian first lady Asma Assad has been diagnosed with leukemia. The president’s wife was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia “after presenting with several symptoms and following a comprehensive series of medical tests and examinations,” the statement says. Asma Assad had previously been treated for breast cancer and in August 2019 announced that she was “completely” free of the disease a year after her diagnosis. Born and raised in the United Kingdom, although her family is originally from central Syria, the first lady is a powerful and divisive figure.
