The health of Dilma Rousseff, the top runner to become the next president of Brazil, is under the country's microscope, the New York Times reported.

The extensive article focuses on the health condition of the daughter of a Bulgarian immigrant, Dilma Rousseff. Rousseff, who is the Chief of Staff of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is also his chosen successor, expected to carry the banner of the hugely popular president into next year's election.

Rousseff's very public health crisis began last month, when she revealed that doctors had removed a cancerous tumor from her chest. She began chemotherapy for lymphoma this month, and her oncologist has put her chances of complete recovery at 90 percent, the article reminds.

"They call her the Iron Lady, the woman political analysts credit with helping rescue Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's second term as president of Brazil," the author Lalo de Almeida writes, adding that the news about Rousseff's health has thrown a wild card into the presidential race, renewing speculation that da Silva would seek to change the Constitution and run for a third term himself.

According to the NY Times, the cancer has transformed Rousseff into a media obsession, with breathless updates on every development of her cancer treatment, from the wig she acknowledged wearing to the leg pains that forced her to check into a hospital in Sao Paulo early last week.

After admitting her illness, Rousseff has received firm support from da Silva, whose job approval rating soars around 75%.

The NY Times further points out that Rousseff, 61, a former economist and oil minister who has never held an elected office, was little known outside the capital before cancer turned her into a celebrity. Most polls show her with less than 16% support, compared with 40% for her likely opposition candidate, the Sao Paulo Governor, Jose Serra, the author reminds, adding da Silva's support automatically makes Rousseff the top runner for the post.

Rousseff is yet to confirm she would seek to become Brazil's next president. In an interview she refused to discuss her prospective candidacy, saying it was too early.

The article also gives an overview of Rousseff's political career, reminding she became da Silva's Chief of Staff after her predecessor was accused in 2005 of leading a scheme to buy votes in Congress.

The daughter of a Brazilian mother and a Bulgarian immigrant father, Rousseff was active in armed militant organizations in the 1960s fighting to oust the military dictatorship.

She said she regretted nothing of her militant past, but firmly denies being involved in the most notorious episode tied to her, the 1969 armed robbery of USD 2.5 M from the Sao Paulo governor's safe.

Rousseff was captured and imprisoned in 1970 on charges of participating in an armed militant group. Sentenced to two years and one month, she ended up spending three years behind bars where, she said, she was tortured repeatedly with electric shocks.