Milken Says He Has Cancer of Prostate

Former financier Michael Milken revealed Tuesday that he is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, which was detected at an early stage during a routine physical examination.

Milken, 46, said he is “optimistic that my treatment will be successful” and that he is “looking forward to as active and normal a life as possible.”

Milken, whose career as junk bond promoter at Drexel Burnham Lambert turned him into a popular symbol of Wall Street’s excesses, was released in early January to a Hollywood halfway house after serving 22 months in a prison camp for securities fraud and other violations. A month later Milken was allowed to return to his Encino home for the rest of his sentence, which is scheduled to end March 2.

It was unclear what effect Milken’s health problems will have on his requirement to devote 1,800 hours a year for the next three years to community service.

“We advised the court as to his situation,” said Richard Sandler, Milken’s lawyer. “It’s really in the court’s hands now.”

Milken discovered he has prostate cancer about a month ago after taking a blood test to measure prostate specific antigen, a protein produced by a cancerous prostate gland.

“He has no symptoms,” said Lorraine Spurge, a longtime friend and former colleague who has been acting as Milken’s spokeswoman.

The American Cancer Society recently recommended that all men over 50 get the prostate specific antigen test, which is new as a diagnostic tool. But some critics argue that routine use of the test will increase health care costs when no studies have proven that early detection actually reduces the death rate from prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death among men after lung cancer, claimed about 34,000 lives last year, according to the American Cancer Society.

And yet prostate cancer is extremely treatable, said Dr. Stuart Holden, the Los Angeles urologist who is treating Milken.

“We’re anticipating a complete recovery for Mr. Milken,” said Holden, who declined to reveal details of what he called Milken’s “aggressive” treatment.

Milken said in a statement that he is no stranger to cancer. Milken’s father and both of his wife’s parents died after battles with different types of cancer, he said.