Petraeus got prostate cancer treatment

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, top U.S. commander in the Middle East, underwent treatment for early-stage prostate cancer earlier this year, his office said.

The statement said Petraeus was diagnosed in February and went through two months of radiation treatment at Walter Read Army Medical Center in Washington, CNN reported Tuesday.

"The treatment is assessed to have been successful," said the statement released by Col. Erik O. Gunhus, a spokesman for Petraeus.

Petraeus, 56, the overall U.S. military commander in Iraq and Afghanistan, took at least one overseas trip while in radiation therapy, the statement said.

The radiation treatment had "minimal impact on his work schedule" because he spent several days a week in Washington "for various policy reviews and other Pentagon activities at that time," the statement said.

Although Petraeus kept his condition private because he thought it was a personal matter, the statement said, President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen were told of his condition.