Doctors say Austin requires no further treatment for cancer

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center say his prostate cancer prognosis is excellent and no further treatments will be needed after seeing him for a follow-up appointment Friday.

Austin, 70, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December and spent two weeks in the hospital following complications from a prostatectomy. Despite the complications, “his cancer was treated early and effectively, and his prognosis is excellent,” his doctors said Friday.

The disclosure of the treatment Friday stood in contrast to the long silence about his hospitalization, which was kept secret for days not only from the public but from President Joe Biden.

Austin is expected to return to work at the Pentagon on Monday, a defense official said.

“Beyond planned physical therapy and regular post-prostatectomy follow up appointments, he has no planned further treatment for his cancer,” Walter Reed trauma medical director Dr. John Maddox and Murtha Cancer Center director Dr. Gregory Chesnut said in a statement Friday.

Austin made his first public appearance earlier this week during a virtual Ukraine contact defense group meeting. Although he was visible only through a web camera, he appeared slightly gaunt.

Austin had what the Pentagon described as a “minimally invasive surgical procedure” on Dec. 22.