Dr. Drew Cancer: HLN Host Had Prostate Tumor Surgery, Now Cancer-Free

Dr. Drew Pinsky has beaten prostate cancer following surgery in July, the host of HLN's "Dr. Drew On Call," announced this week.

Pinsky, 55, said he is now cancer-free after going through four hours of "radical robotic prostatectomy" over the Fourth of July holiday.

In a post on his website, Pinsky said his wife first urged him to get a checkup in 2011. He said in the post when doctors noticed that the central lobe on his prostate was bigger than it should have been, they began to monitor it.

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"My doctor and I decided on a course of active surveillance, also known as 'watchful waiting,' Pinsky said in the post post. "The tumor was monitored over the course of more than a year. I had two more biopsies. I’m glad I did. They showed that the mass on my prostate had spread. There was too much volume. ... Something wasn’t right, and my doctor knew it."

The biopsies led to the eventual surgery.

"Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men," Pinsky said on his website. "According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 200,000 men in this country are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year. Twenty-five thousand men die from it annually. It’s most common in men over 65. ... I'm in my 50s, so cancer found me early."

Fans supported Pinsky on his "On Call with Dr. Drew" Facebook page.

"Thank you Dr. Drew for bringing this disease to the forefront," wrote Linda Progar. "More men need to have this examination done so if there is a problem it can be caught in time. Like women with mammograms and pap smears."

"Congrats on beating this thing, Dr. Drew. FYI, my brother got diagnosed with stage 4 terminal prostate cancer that had also spread into his back just 14 months ago," wrote Barbara DiLorenzo. "Today my brother is cancer free and has never taken radiation, only once monthly hormone therapy."

After graduating from the University of Southern California School of Medicine and working in private practice in Pasadena, Calif., Pinsky first found media fame doing a local radio show called "Loveline" in 1983. That show became the basis of MTV's version of "Loveline" with comedian Adam Carolla in 1996.

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