Olmert announces he has Prostate Cancer

Timing is everything, and the latest move from Jerusalem raises questions, as well as sympathy. The Israeli prime minister's newly announced cancer surgery is likely to be another reason to push back peace talks in Annapolis. Ehud Olmert disclosed on Monday that he has prostate cancer, but that the disease is not life threatening and he will continue to fulfill his duties.

Speaking to a packed news conference in Jerusalem at noon, the Israeli leader said that he will have surgery and that he has "full chances" of recovery. He said the disease was caught at an early stage.

Olmert, 62, took office in March 2006 after his predecessor, Ariel Sharon, suffered a debilitating stroke and lapsed into a coma.

The prime minister made his announcement during a press conference in Jerusalem.

The news comes at a delicate time in Mideast peacemaking, just weeks ahead of a U.S.-brokered summit designed to relaunch long-stalled peace talks. It was not clear how or if Olmert's illness would affect his already troubled efforts to frame a common outline with the Palestinians ahead of the conference, scheduled to take place in Annapolis, Md., in either November or December.

The prostate is a walnut-shaped gland beneath the base of the penis that makes seminal fluid. Prostate cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer. In most men, it grows so slowly that it will never threaten their lives. 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.

The primary risk factor is age, with the disease commonly striking after a man is after 50.

It can be treated with surgery, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy and occasionally chemotherapy, among other treatments.