Phil Lesh reveals he has prostate cancer

Bassist and Grateful Dead founding member Phil Lesh has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to a posting on his website.

Lesh, who underwent a liver transplant in 1998, said he's been monitored by "a crack team of doctors" since that procedure, and that a recent biopsy confirmed the presence of cancer in his system.

"I have decided to have it removed in early December with da Vinci robotic surgery," Lesh, 66, said in a statement on his website. "Since we've caught it very early, and it's small and slow-growing, I fully expect to have a rapid and complete recovery.

"I am feeling energetic as always, and all my scheduled appearances will occur as planned," he added.

The performer's next scheduled appearance, Nov. 9 in New York as part of a star-studded tribute to the music of Bob Dylan, will apparently be unaffected by his medical diagnosis.

Aside from Lesh, performers at the Dylan tribute--which will also serve as a benefit for the Music For Youth Foundation--include Patti Smith, Roseanne Cash, Ryan Adams and many others.

The show's full lineup can be found at the Foundation's website.