As he reveals in a statement to People magazine, O'Neal was "recently diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer." While he was "shocked and stunned by the news," he says he still has a reason to feel fortunate.

"It was detected early, and according to my extraordinary team of doctors the prognosis is positive for a full recovery," he says in the statement.

He goes on to express his gratitude to friends and family for their support, and he also encourages "everyone to get regular check-ups, as early detection is the best defense against this horrible disease that has afflicted so many."

O'Neal lost his long-time partner, actress Farrah Fawcett, to anal cancer in 2009, and was previously treated for leukemia in the late '90s.


http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/16/ryan-oneal-battling-prostate-cancer/?hpt=hp_t3

That's terrible. Hope he can make a recovery.

Stage 4 is pretty bad!

Yeah. The first I heard about this it was reported that it was stage 1 and he was expected to make a full recovery. Stage 4 ain't good.