US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has prostate cancer, doctors reveal amid hospital row
- Biden learned of the diagnosis only a month later, and the US president was not told about the Pentagon head’s latest hospitalisation for several days
- The White House, reeling from learning of Austin’s surprise stay at Walter Reed medical centre last week, is now mounting a policy review
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has prostate cancer, doctors said on Tuesday, a diagnosis US President Joe Biden was not told about for around a month.
“He was informed by the chief of staff earlier this morning and I’m not going to go into more detail on that,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told a briefing, calling the lapse “not optimal”.
Austin, 70, was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre on December 22, where he underwent surgery to treat the cancer. Austin developed a urinary tract infection a week later. Senior administration and defence officials were not told for days about his hospitalisation.
According to the doctors, the cancer was detected when Austin had a regular screening in early December. They said he “underwent a minimally invasive surgical procedure” and went home the next day. But on January 1 he reported nausea and severe abdominal, hip and leg pain due to the infection.
They said his prostate cancer was detected early, and his prognosis is excellent.
The announcement of the cancer came after days of questions about why Austin had been hospitalised and why Biden and other top officials had not been told about his hospitalisation for days. Several Republican lawmakers even said Austin should be ousted.
