Gov. Brown's Health 'Great' After Prostate Cancer Treatment
LOS ANGELES (CBS / AP) -- California Gov. Jerry Brown said Tuesday that he has concluded radiation treatment for early-stage prostate cancer, his second health scare since taking office two years ago.
"My health is great," the 74-year-old Democrat declared in downtown Los Angeles, where he told reporters the treatment was "over, it's done."
"I'm ready to go," Brown boasted. "You're going to have me ... to kick around for a long time."
Brown's office disclosed last month that he was undergoing radiation treatment for the second most common cancer to afflict men, but provided few details about his condition or treatment. At the time, his oncologist called his prognosis "excellent."
Brown, who became California's oldest sitting governor last year, had surgery to remove a cancerous growth on the right side of his nose in April 2011, a few months after he reclaimed the office he first held from 1975 to 1983.
More than 241,000 new cases of prostate cancer were expected to be diagnosed in the United States last year -- nearly two-thirds of them in men 65 or older.
The typical radiation treatment for early-stage prostate cancer is five days a week, for four to five weeks. Those who undergo radiation are typically subjected to a series of high-intensity beams aimed directly at the prostate, a procedure similar to undergoing an X-ray that can take less than half an hour. The side effects can include tiredness and some risk of urinary and bowel problems, but most patients can work and live normally.
Brown, the son of former two-term governor Edmund G. Brown, has spent a lifetime in politics, including serving terms as secretary of state, attorney general and mayor of Oakland.
(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
