Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Has Prostate Cancer, Remains Hospitalized At Walter Reed
HuffPost
The 70-year-old retired general appears to have kept the truth about his diagnosis and treatment under wraps.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s mysterious hospitalization is related to a prostate cancer diagnosis he received in December, Pentagon officials revealed Tuesday.
Austin has been hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, since New Year’s Day for a complication related to a Dec. 22 operation on his prostate gland.
But news of his condition was not immediately shared with senior Biden administration leaders or even top Pentagon officials, prompting heated questions about the lack of information at a time when the U.S. is involved in several global conflicts.
“His prostate cancer was detected early, and his prognosis is excellent,” said a letter from Austin’s doctors released Tuesday.
Austin, 70, received a general anesthetic last month during his prostatectomy, a procedure that involves the full or partial removal of the prostate, and returned home the following morning.