Empress Emerita Michiko of Japan received good news on Friday – her breast cancer has been completely removed and there were no signs of metastasis, the Imperial Household Agency announced. The Empress Emerita had undergone surgery on 8 September to remove stage one cancer in her left breast.
The Empress Emerita is recovering well following the surgery. She will not undergo radiation therapy because it is believed that the risk of the cancer returning is low. She will undergo hormone therapy. The cancer was about one centimetre in size and some of the surrounding tissue was also removed during the surgery.
The operation was performed by staff from the Shizuoka Cancer Center and the University of Tokyo Hospital. She was soon able to walk around her room and her appetite returned quickly. Her husband, Emperor Emeritus Akihito thanked the head of the hospital and the doctors who performed the operation before returning to the Imperial Palace with his wife.
The Empress was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer after a lump was found in July during an ultrasound and the diagnosis was confirmed in August after a needle biopsy.
Empress Michiko also underwent cataract surgery on both eyes in June and was also diagnosed with heart valve abnormalities earlier this summer. Her husband abdicated in April of this year and was succeeded by their eldest son Naruhito on the Chrysanthemum throne.
