Zbigniew Ziobro – illness, health condition, documents in his house, search, Justice Fund

On Tuesday, the services arrived at Zbigniew Ziobro's house and conducted a search related to irregularities in the spending of the Justice Fund money. Ziobro has not appeared in public for a long time due to – as he reported – cancer treatment. While the house was being searched, he unexpectedly appeared on the scene and has since spoken to journalists several times.

On Thursday evening there were interviews on Polsat News and Telewizja Republika. In both cases he said, among others: about his fight against cancer.

He argued that he “did not want to make a public matter out of it, he was not looking for any excuse, much less pity”, and – as he said – he was simply trying to save his life.

– Esophageal cancer with metastases to the stomach was diagnosed. The disease accelerated very quickly. I lost about 10 kilos in less than a month. I experienced very severe pain, including around my sternum and behind my back, and I had an increasing problem with my voice, which had been a problem for me for years and was a precursor to this disease, he described.

He explained that the doctors, when explaining the origins of his disease, indicated that it was related to the reflux he was struggling with.

As he continued, he first underwent treatment in Lublin, but then it was time to decide about the surgery. He said that the operation was to be performed in Poland first and he was considering carrying it out in Lublin as well.

He said that in the end he did not decide to carry it out there because of the “hatred” not only towards him, but also towards doctors. – And I made a difficult decision to undergo surgical treatment abroad – he said.

He argued that he underwent surgery abroad “to create comfort for both the doctors and himself.” – This operation is very complicated. This is an eight-hour surgery and is associated with high operational risk. According to data, about eight percent do not survive this surgery. I found a very experienced team. You could say I had two in one – there were complications. I underwent minimally invasive esophageal surgery, but it turned out that – in my case, due to anatomical reasons – it was impossible to complete. The surgeon decided to perform a so-called posterolateral thoracotomy. This is a very unpleasant procedure involving a cut of about 18 centimeters between the ribs – he described.

– Unfortunately, the side effect of this operation is what you hear (voice problems – ed.), but this is the least of the problems. The biggest problem is related to the often persistent pain. Without the strongest painkillers that medicine has at its disposal, I wouldn't be able to have this conversation today, he said.

– For several months I was slandered as a fraud who simulated cancer. “It would be extremely disgusting,” he added.

Ziobro stopped appearing in public at the end of 2023. When the politician's prolonged absence from Sejm sessions began to attract media attention, Sovereign Poland MPs announced that he was suffering from esophageal cancer.