SAO PAULO: Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was discharged from hospital here Tuesday after undergoing chemotherapy for larynx cancer, a hospital statement said.

"The patient completed the first session of chemotherapy without complications and today had (additional) exams" and tomography, said Sirio-Libanes Hospital where the popular ex-metalworker and labor activist was admitted Saturday.

"I am prepared to face another battle and I believe we will succeed. We only need to follow the medical recommendations," a visibly weakened Lula said in a video released by the Citizenship Institute that he created after leaving office.

"No human being can allow himself to be defeated by pain or a cancer. We have to fight," he added.

A former smoker who is known for his raspy voice, Lula, 66, was diagnosed with the most common form of larynx on Saturday after being hospitalized complaining of throat pain.

He is to have a total of three rounds of chemotherapy at 21-day intervals by year's end, before undergoing radiation therapy in January, according to his doctors who rated his prospects for recovery as "very good.

Late Monday, current Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who underwent successful chemotherapy herself at the same hospital in 2009, visited her predecessor and said he was in fighting spirits.

"He is in a fantastic mood, exceptional, with that typical joy of his," Rousseff told reporters. "I suffered quite a bit with my chemotherapy and I am certain that Lula has what it takes to beat this great challenge."

Lula also got words of encouragement from Pope Benedict XVI, who prayed for his recovery, according to Brazil's ambassador to the Vatican, Almir Barbuda.

Brazil's first democratically elected leftist president, Lula stepped down with a 80 percent approval rating, after two consecutive terms from January 2003 to December 2010. AGENCIES