Lloyd Austin Has Prostate Cancer

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has prostate cancer and underwent surgery to treat it last month, doctors said Tuesday. In a statement, doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center said the 70-year-old was hospitalized for a " minimally invasive surgical procedure" called a prostatectomy on Dec. 22, CNN reports. The doctors said Austin was readmitted Jan. 1 with complications "including nausea with severe abdominal, hip, and leg pain." They said Austin, who is still hospitalized, had a urinary tract infection. The doctors said the cancer was detected early, during a routine screening and "his prognosis is excellent," reports the AP.

President Biden wasn't told about the Jan. 1 hospitalization for days. Austin said Saturday that he could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. "Nobody in the White House knew that Secretary Austin had prostate cancer until this morning, and the President was informed immediately after," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday. Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, asked why Austin hadn't disclosed the diagnosis sooner, said it was "deeply personal." He said officials will "continue to work hard to make sure that we're being as transparent as possible moving forward, and again, wish the secretary speedy recovery."

Officials have said Austin's job is not in danger despite the failure to tell officials about the hospitalizations. Kirby sought to keep the focus on Austin's recovery in his remarks Tuesday, the Washington Post reports. "We all want to wish him the very best. I mean, this is sadly, this is a disease that affects many millions of American men, particularly at that stage in life. And the key is early diagnosis," he said. "I think, look, we're all going to learn a whole heck of a lot of lessons from this past week. One of the lessons I hope that everybody takes away is the value of early screening." The White House is reviewing its protocols on delegation of authority. (More Lloyd Austin stories.)