By Charles Wolfe
The Associated Press

FRANKFORT - Lt. Gov. Steve Henry said Tuesday that he has prostate cancer and will undergo surgery on Thursday at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

His doctors think he can recover fully from the cancer, which was diagnosed in the course of a physical examination last month, Henry, 49, said at a news conference with his wife and daughters.

"The indications are that we have caught this at a very early stage," he said.

Other tests, including a bone scan, have so far failed to detect any spread of the cancer, And his physicians say there is better than an 80 percent chance that they will find it wholly contained in the prostate gland, Henry said.

"I like those odds," he said, "but the fact is, you don't know until you have the surgery."

Henry, who is an orthopedist, said he had multiple treatment options, but chose the "most aggressive" option, which is surgery to remove the prostate gland. He said he probably will undergo additional treatment, perhaps radiation or hormone therapy, "just as an insurance policy."

Henry said he hopes to return home Sunday or Monday and be back at work after two or three weeks.

He also said he expects to become a crusader for the cause of men over 40 getting a "PSA test" - a blood test for prostate-specific antigen - as part of a regular checkup.

"It's inexpensive. It's such an easy thing to do," he said.