Reagan Delayed Surgery, Paper Says

Doctors advised President Reagan to undergo an operation last year to check for intestinal growths, but he postponed surgery for political reasons and went on an anti-cancer diet instead, a British newspaper said Sunday. The White House later denied the report.

The respected Observer newspaper, quoting sources close to the White House medical team, said specialists who removed a small polyp from his intestine in June of last year advised Reagan that a larger growth might exist. But, the newspaper said, a decision was made to delay surgery until as soon as “was decently possible” after Reagan’s inauguration. The operation was then postponed to make sure that he was “visibly at the helm” during leadership changes in the Soviet Union.

White House spokesman Larry Speakes, in denying the report, said: “That’s all poppycock, as the British would say.”