Israel's Olmert diagnosed with prostate cancer

Doctors to remove prostate gland
The prostate is a walnut-shaped gland beneath the base of the penis that makes seminal fluid.

Ramon said doctors planned to remove Olmert’s prostate gland. Treatment often leads to problems having sex or controlling the bladder, so finding a way to distinguish which tumors can safely be left alone is the field’s top priority.

According to Cancer Research UK, more than 670,000 men worldwide are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year, making it the second most common cancer in men after lung cancer. It is found mainly in men over age 55, and the average age of diagnosis is 70, according to the European Society for Medical Oncology.

Olmert, who first entered parliament in 1973, was catapulted into the prime minister’s seat after Sharon’s 2006 stroke.

Considered a back-room operator with considerable political talent but little charisma, Olmert nonetheless led the new Kadima Party formed by Sharon to victory in parliamentary elections two months later. Sharon remains unconscious and is hospitalized in a long-term care facility.

Difficult tenure
Though pilloried for mishandling Israel’s war against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon that summer, Olmert has managed to keep his coalition government together despite dismal approval ratings.

In recent months, he has been meeting regularly with Abbas in an effort to draft a joint statement on peace ahead of the Annapolis conference. Abbas had surgery for prostate cancer in 2001.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat sent his best wishes to the Israeli leader.

“We wish him a speedy recovery, and we hope to continue working with him toward achieving a two-state solution and ending the Israeli occupation that began in 1967,” Erekat said.

Several high-profile U.S. politicians have disclosed their battles with cancer in recent years, including three current U.S. presidential candidates.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was sidelined politically in 2000 after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, only to re-enter the fray ahead of next year’s presidential race. Former “Law & Order” star Fred Thompson was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Republican Sen. John McCain has had three bouts with melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer.

Elizabeth Edwards, wife of presidential candidate John Edwards, announced her breast cancer had returned, and White House spokesman Tony Snow recently had surgery for cancer that spread to his liver.

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