Former NIH director Francis Collins to undergo 'radical prostatectomy' due to cancer

Former National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, 73, has revealed that he has prostate cancer.

In a Washington Post piece, Collins explained that years ago, "My doctor had noted a slow rise in my PSA, the blood test for prostate-specific antigen."

"At first, there wasn’t much to worry about — targeted biopsies identified a slow-growing grade of prostate cancer that doesn't require treatment and can be tracked via regular checkups," he explained, noting that "things took a turn about a month ago when my PSA rose sharply to 22 — normal at my age is less than 5. An MRI scan showed that the tumor had significantly enlarged," he wrote. "New biopsies taken from the mass showed transformation into a much more aggressive cancer."

Collins noted that later in April he will undergo surgery, a radical prostatectomy, to excise his prostate gland.

"My surgeon will be assisted by a sophisticated robot named for Leonardo da Vinci that employs a less invasive surgical approach than previous techniques, requiring just a few small incision," he explained.

"Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men in the United States, and about 40 percent of men over age 65 ... have low-grade prostate cancer. Many of them never know it, and very few of them develop advanced disease," Collins wrote. "Prostate cancer is still the No. 2 killer of men."

Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin underwent a prostatectomy due to cancer in December.

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