"Sarbanes undergoes cancer surgery," The Baltimore Sun August 26, 1995 <p>The Baltimore Sun August 26, 1995, Saturday, <p>August 26, 1995, Saturday, FINAL EDITION <br>SECTION: LOCAL (NEWS), Pg. 2B <p>HEADLINE: Sarbanes undergoes cancer surgery <br>BYLINE: John B. O'Donnell and Jonathan Bor, Sun Staff Writers <p>Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes of Maryland underwent surgery for prostate cancer 12 days ago, his office announced yesterday. <p>"The prognosis for complete recovery is excellent," said Dr. Patrick C. Walsh, who removed Mr. Sarbanes' prostate gland at Johns Hopkins Hospital on Aug. 14. <p>The 62-year-old Democrat was re-elected to a fourth, six-year term in November. <p>Dr. Walsh said the cancer was caught at an early stage -- before Mr. Sarbanes had developed a palpable tumor and before cancer had spread to other parts of his body. <p>The senator did not require any further treatment -- such as radiation -- to rid his body of cancer, said Dr. Walsh, urologist in chief at the hospital. <p>The cancer was detected through a routine blood test called a PSA, which measures the level of a chemical -- prostate specific antigen -- that is released into the bloodstream by the prostate gland. An elevated PSA is a possible signal of a diseased prostate. <p>The senator's chances of living without a recurrence are "excellent," Dr. Walsh said. <p>"I would guess the likelihood of having an undetectable PSA 10 to 15 years from now is 95 percent," Dr. Walsh said. "And I don't think there is any test that is more precise to detect residual cancer." <p>Largely because the PSA test uncovers many cases that once would have gone undetected, prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in the United States. About 200,000 cases are diagnosed annually. <p>About 40,000 men die of the disease each year in the United States, but most deaths are among men whose cancers were treated at a later stage than was Mr. Sarbanes'. <p>"The success of this procedure," Mr. Sarbanes said in a statement, "underscores the importance of routine screening for early detection of this highly common form of cancer in men." <p>Bruce Frame, Mr. Sarbanes' press secretary, said the cancer was found last month. He and Dr. Walsh described the surgery as elective and said it was delayed until after the Senate adjourned for its August recess. <p>Mr. Sarbanes, who is recovering at his Baltimore home, expects to return to the Senate when it reconvenes Sept. 5, his spokesman said. <p>Asked why he waited 11 days to announce the surgery, Mr. Frame said, "He wanted to recuperate at home a little bit." Mr. Sarbanes left the hospital Aug. 18.