(LibertySons.org) – Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has prostate cancer. He revealed his medical diagnosis in January after he was hospitalized for several days. The secretary has now been admitted to the hospital once again.
On February 11, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the press secretary for the Pentagon, issued a press release stating Austin’s security detail transported him to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The Defense secretary was experiencing an emergent issue with his bladder and needed to be seen by doctors. At 4:55 p.m. that day, he transferred his power over to Kathleen Hicks, the deputy secretary of Defense.
POLITICO reported Trauma Medical Director Dr. John Maddox and Dr. Gregory Chestnut, the director of the cancer center at the hospital, released a statement later that evening and said the secretary was moved to the critical care unit at the hospital. They said that he was moved there “for supportive care and close monitoring.” The physicians also said they believed the defense secretary would make a “full recovery” from the cancer and that the bladder issue wasn’t going to change that.
In his statement, Ryder said that the secretary’s office notified the White House, Congress, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The notifications were noteworthy because the last time Austin was hospitalized, his office failed to notify everyone in the chain of command above him in a timely fashion. In fact, not even the deputy defense secretary knew he had transferred some of his power to her while she was vacationing in Puerto Rico.
Austin apologized for his failure to communicate last time he was sick, during a press briefing on February 1. He admitted that he didn’t handle the situation correctly. He said he should have told President Joe Biden about the cancer diagnosis prior to his hospitalization.
It’s not clear when Austin will be ready to resume his duties.
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