Syrian first lady Asma al-Assad has been diagnosed with breast cancer, the office of the Syrian Presidency announced in a tweet on Wednesday.
The tweet included a photo of the first lady, her arm attached to an IV drip, alongside her husband, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The British-born wife of the Syrian president is a high-profile figure who has received both praise and criticism for standing by Assad throughout Syria’s seven-year civil war.
Her Instagram feed shows images of Asma cradling small children, sitting by the bedside of injured war victims and touring sites with local women.
President Assad has been repeatedly accused of war crimes over the past seven years and several countries have accused him of launching chemical attacks on his own people in rebel-held areas.