Palmer Plans Fight Against Cancer

CARLSBAD —  Arnold Palmer’s prostate cancer has been detected in its early stages, according to those familiar with the 67-year-old golfer.

Palmer discovered he had prostate cancer when he learned the results of a biopsy, his third after regular blood tests had revealed a problem, just after he arrived for the PGA Tour awards dinner that was held here Friday night.

Palmer told the Associated Press that he was returning home to Florida for additional tests of his prostate condition.

“We have to decide what course of action is best,” Palmer said.

Treatment generally involves a surgical removal of the prostate gland. The success rate of this procedure depends on whether the cancer has spread beyond the gland.

There are 317,000 cases of prostate cancer diagnosed annually in the United States and 40,000 die each year. It most often strikes men in their 60s and 70s. One in five American men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime.

Those who have battled prostate cancer include former Sen. Bob Dole, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, Michael Milken, Merv Griffin and Robert Goulet.

Palmer withdrew from next week’s Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. He said he would not play again until the cancer is “taken care of.”

Sources close to the situation said Palmer had a series of blood tests and twice a problem had been indicated. However, both biopsies were negative.

The positive reading came in the third biopsy, a source told the Associated Press, which also reported that a biopsy six months ago had been negative, an indication the cancer may have been found early.

Palmer has not yet withdrawn from the Senior Skins Game in Hawaii in two weeks, according to a news release from the PGA Tour.

Golfer Phil Mickelson said, “There’s a lot of concern among a lot of players because of what he has done for the game.”

Palmer has not won a PGA Tour event since 1973 or a Senior PGA Tour event since 1988, but he is regarded as the player who popularized golf when it began to boom on television in the 1960s.

He won seven major titles--four Masters, two British Opens and one U.S. Open.