Gov. Brown Undergoing Treatment For Prostate Cancer
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Gov. Jerry Brown's office announced Wednesday that he is undergoing treatment for localized prostate cancer.
Dr. Eric Small, Brown's oncologist at UCSF, issued the following statement: "Fortunately, this is early stage localized prostate cancer, which is being treated with a short course of conventional radiotherapy. The prognosis is excellent, and there are not expected to be any significant side effects."
Brown is continuing a full work schedule during the treatment, which is expected to be completed the week of Jan. 7, his office said.
He is expected to recover completely after receiving treatment called short-course radiation.
"This is external beam radiation therapy. So you get it five days a week. It's very quick, there's no operation, no anesthetic," said Dr. Ralph deVere-White, Director of UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center.
He says the governor's treatment will allow him to keep his normal workload.
"It's usually set up at the same time every day. It should have no affects on the governor's day to day life," said deVere-White.
The governor, 74, had skin cancer removed from his nose in April 2011.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. More than 241,000 new cases are expected to be diagnosed in the United States this year. More than 90 percent are early stage, and nearly all men with such diagnoses survive at least five years.
Localized prostate cancer means "the tumor is still contained within the prostate," said Dr. Mark Litwin, chairman of the UCLA Department of Urology, who is not involved in Brown's care. "Of course, that's what you want because you can treat it much more effectively."
Web Links For Prostate Cancer Information:
Photo Gallery: Famous Prostate Cancer Survivors
(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)
