Chavez home after surgery

ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez arrives home after cancer surgery in Cuba.

Flying into Maiquetia International Airport outside Caracas on Friday (March 16) after an absence of more than three weeks.

Cuban doctors have removed a second malignant tumour and he will need radiation therapy.

He underwent treatment in June 2011 for a pelvic abscess and removal of a cancerous tumour.

Little is known about the kind of cancer Chavez has or how serious it is, and questions remain about whether he is fit enough to campaign for an election planned for October.

Opinion polls suggest Chavez still has the edge over his top presidential opponent when it comes to voter enthusiasm, although about a third of the electorate is still undecided.

The cancer saga has eclipsed all other matters in Venezuela, where theories range from a belief by some that Chavez has invented it to win sympathy, to speculation by others that he has only months to live.