By Iclal Turan
WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Joe Biden was not informed until Tuesday morning that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who has faced criticism for a secretive hospital stay last week, was diagnosed with prostate cancer, said the White House.
"Nobody in the White House knew that Secretary Austin had prostate cancer until this morning, and the president was informed immediately after," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
"He (Biden) was not informed until last Friday that Secretary Austin was in the hospital. He was not informed until this morning that the root cause of that hospitalization was prostate cancer," he said.
Asked if the president plans to stick with Austin through the rest of the term, Kirby responded: "Yes."
Speaking about Biden's reaction, Kirby said: "His first reaction was — we all want to wish him the very best,” adding: “Sadly, this is a disease that affects many millions of American men.”
“We’re all going to learn a whole heck of a lot of lessons from this past week,” Kirby said, adding it was “certainly not good” that Austin’s hospitalization and diagnosis was kept from the president.
Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the state of Maryland on Dec. 22 and underwent a minimally invasive surgical procedure called a prostatectomy to treat and cure prostate cancer, according to the statement.
"He was under general anesthesia during this procedure. Secretary Austin recovered uneventfully from his surgery and returned home the next morning. His prostate cancer was detected early, and his prognosis is excellent," said the statement.
The Pentagon issued a statement Friday that said Austin was hospitalized for four days beginning Jan. 1.
Spokesman Pat Ryder said Austin was admitted "for complications following a recent elective medical procedure.”
Ryder did not provide details but said only that Austin "is recovering well and is expecting to resume his full duties today."
He reiterated Tuesday that Austin "currently remains hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and is in good condition."