Cancer Surgery for Block : Sheriff: The 66-year-old’s prostate ailment is another blow in his department’s downbeat year. He plans to return after six weeks.

Sheriff Sherman Block, whose department weathered a tumultuous year marred by a corruption scandal and brutality complaints, disclosed Wednesday that he has cancer of the prostate gland and will undergo surgery next month.

The 66-year-old Block, who was reelected last spring as head of the nation’s largest sheriff’s department, told a news conference that he expects to recover fully from a malady that doctors have diagnosed as adenocarcinoma, or a gland-related cancer in his prostate.

“I am in exceptionally good health otherwise, and after a recuperation period of about six weeks, I expect to be fully recovered and back to full duty with the department,” said Block.

Prostate cancer affects about one in 11 U.S. men, according to health statistics. Block said his illness was first diagnosed about six weeks ago during a routine physical examination that spurred further tests.

Since then, the sheriff said he has been undergoing hormonal therapy in anticipation of surgery now scheduled for Jan. 7 at the Norris Cancer Hospital & Research Institute in the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. During his recovery period, Block said, he will turn over day-to-day supervision of his department to Undersheriff Robert A. Edmonds.

“But I can assure you that after the first few days of recovery, I will be requesting and receiving regular briefings as to what is occurring in the department operations,” Block said.

The surprise medical announcement was sent by Teletype to the department’s 12,000 employees at sheriff’s stations and other department offices. Edmonds, 52, the department’s second-highest official, said that only a few family members and Block aides were aware of the sheriff’s diagnosis.

“He’s well-prepared to undergo the surgery,” said Edmonds, who was summoned from vacation to attend the news conference. “He has a very good attitude about it and his overall health is very good.”

For the Sheriff’s Department, Block’s medical condition came as the latest blow in a downbeat year--a year the sheriff himself described Wednesday as a “mixed bag of pluses and minuses.”

The most traumatic event was the money-skimming scandal, which arose from allegations that officers pocketed money seized during narcotics operations. The scandal forced Block to dismantle the department’s vaunted narcotics teams, which had been responsible for some of the county’s largest seizures of cocaine and illegally obtained cash.

In the wake of a federal and local corruption investigation, six sheriff’s narcotics officers were convicted recently of conspiracy and theft. A seventh officer also was convicted on a related money-laundering charge.

Two more trials are scheduled, and Block said the narcotics scandal may result in additional indictments against deputies.

In retrospect, the sheriff acknowledged that the narcotics investigation revealed “a breakdown of supervision” in some cases. But he staunchly defended his administration in the scandal, blaming “a handful” of problem officers for the corruption.

Meanwhile, Block also defended his agency against criticism on other issues that surfaced in 1990, including accusations that his officers engaged in excessive force and unwarranted shootings and that a clique of deputies at the Lynwood sheriff’s station adopted street gang behavior to intimidate their supervisors and citizens.

Block, who has already said he is investigating the Lynwood complaints, disputed many of the allegations and dismissed other complaints as unsubstantiated accusations that arise from lawsuits targeting law enforcement officers.

Although the number of deputy-involved shootings has increased--from 37 in 1989 to 46 through November of this year--Block blamed the rise on an overall increase in street violence in the county.

Homicides handled by his department have soared by 32% this year compared to 1989, and felony assaults have jumped 18%, the sheriff said. In addition, six deputies have been wounded in street violence, compared to four last year, he said.

BACKGROUND

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, after skin cancer. One out of every 11 men will develop it, most of them after age 65. About 30,000 men die from the disease each year, making it the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men, after lung cancer. However, prostate cancer is often curable when caught early. Many cases are detected during rectal examinations, which are recommended annually for all men older than 40. The disease is treated surgically. Radiation, hormone treatment and chemotherapy may be prescribed as well. If the cancer has spread beyond the gland, cure is less certain. But patients whose tumors are still confined to the prostate have a five-year survival rate of 84%, according to the National Cancer Institute. About 60% of prostate cancers are diagnosed at this relatively early stage.