Much like Angelina Jolie in her touching personal essay about undergoing a double masectomy in the New York Times, Dr. Drew has taken to the media to reveal his battle with prostate cancer. In his case, he's penned an essay on the blog of his television network, HLN.


"While many of you were celebrating the Fourth of July, I was at home on my couch recovering from a radical robotic prostatectomy," wrote Dr. Drew. "Four hours of surgery had left me in great pain, without an appetite, and in need of help from my college-age son, Jordan, to get up and lie down. But I was cancer-free for the first time in at least two years."


"In 2011 my wife, Susan, begged me to go to the doctor for a check-up," he continued, adding: "An ultrasound revealed that the central lobe of my prostate was bigger than it should have been."


"What my doctor diagnosed was prostatitis; inflammation of the prostate. It’s usually caused by a bacterial infection," he explained, going on to describe the biopsy he had undergone. "What they discovered was a low-grade tumor."


As for his decision to undergo surgery, Dr. Drew said, "I'm relatively young. I have a wife. I have three children in college. I didn't want cancer coming back. So I had a radical robotic prostatectomy in early July 2013."


Explaining his decision to share the news with his fans, Dr. Drew said: "I want you to hear it from me. Not from the Internet. Not from a gossip column. Not from someone who doesn't know me."


For Dr. Drew's complete post, click over to HLNTV.com.



Also on HuffPost:




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  • Angelina Jolie


    In May 2013, Jolie opened up about her choice to have a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/14/angelina-jolie-double-mastectomy_n_3271514.html" target="_blank">preventative double mastectomy</a> in an op-ed for The New York Times. The 37-year-old actress wrote candidly about carrying a "faulty" gene, BRCA1, and revealed she had an 87 percent risk of getting breast cancer and 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer. Her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, died in January 2007 at the age of 56 after an almost 10-year battle with ovarian cancer.




  • Tori Spelling


    Tori nearly lost her life during her fourth pregnancy with son Finn Davey after <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/04/tori-spellings-pregnancy-scare-wont-stop-her-from-having-more-kids_n_2240214.html" target="_blank">she was diagnosed with placenta previa</a>. She spent four months on bed rest at a Los Angeles hospital, all the while keeping her condition a secret from fans.




  • Elton John


    In July 2013, the "Tiny Dancer" singer had to cancel a few shows to get <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/10/elton-john-health-grateful-to-be-alive_n_3572317.html?utm_hp_ref=celebrity" target="_blank">treated for an inflamed appendix and surrounding abscess</a>. "I was a ticking time bomb. I guess I could have died at any time," said John of his undiagnosed appendicitis. "I feel so lucky and grateful to be alive." In May 2012, John was hospitalized after developing a <a href="http://ca.omg.yahoo.com/news/elton-john-hospitalized-serious-respiratory-infection-153756016.html" target="_blank">serious respiratory infection</a> following a Las Vegas show.




  • Randy Travis


    In July 2013, it was reported that the country music star has <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/10/randy-travis-congestive-heart-failure_n_3574538.html?utm_hp_ref=celebrity" target="_blank">congestive heart failure</a> because of a viral respiratory illness he contracted. Doctors described his condition as stable.




  • Mariah Carey


    In July 2013, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/08/mariah-carey-hospitalized_n_3564146.html" target="_blank">Carey was hospitalized for a dislocated shoulder</a> obtained on set of her music video #Beautiful.




  • Dick Van Dyke


    In April 201, Van Dyke revealed he has been suffering from an undiagnosed neurological disorder for the past seven years. In May, he announced he might've finally found the cause of his mystery illness: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/31/dick-van-dyke-mystery-illness_n_3366200.html" target="_blank">Dental implant surgery</a>, which can cause nerve damage and may lead to problems related to pain, speech, eating and kissing.




  • Lady Gaga


    In February 2013, Gaga canceled some tour dates because <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/14/lady-gaga-cancels-tour-hip-surgery_n_2685069.html" target="_blank">she had to undergo surgery for a hip injury. </a>




  • Michael Douglas


    In June 2013, the 68-year-old claimed his <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/06/03/michael-douglas-cancer-oral-sex_n_3376641.html" target="_blank">stage-four throat cancer was caused by performing oral sex</a>. Reportedly, he said he contracted it through the human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted disease. The actor later <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/03/michael-douglas-oral-sex-cancer_n_3379654.html" target="_blank">denied</a> making that connection.




  • Catherine Zeta-Jones


    Douglas' prettier half checked into a mental health facility for treatment of <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/30/catherine-zeta-jones-mental-health-treatment_n_3182715.html" target="_blank">her bipolar condition</a> in April 2013. Two years prior, the 43-year-old Oscar winner checked into a similar facility for a brief stay for treatment of her condition, known as Bipolar II (a disorder characterized by mood swings and depressive episodes, commonly treated with medication and psychotherapy).




  • Robin Roberts


    In June 2012, Roberts announced that she had been diagnosed with a rare blood disorder called MDS. She started treatment almost immediately and left "Good Morning America" in late August for a transplant. After undergoing a bone marrow transplant in September, Roberts returned to the morning show she co-hosts in February.




  • Carrie Fisher


    In February 2013, Fisher was hospitalized to undergo <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/26/carrie-fisher-hospitalized-bipolar-disorder_n_2768181.html" target="_blank">treatment for her bipolar disorder.</a>




  • Carnie Wilson


    Carnie revealed that she has been diagnosed with Bell's palsy -- a condition that affects the nerve that controls the muscle on the side of the face, which weakens the muscle and leads to droopiness, according to the Mayo Clinic -- in a tweet to her 5,000 followers on March 14.




  • Gwyneth Paltrow


    In a candid interview with the Mail in Sunday's You magazine, the 40-year-old actress reveals that she experienced a miscarriage while pregnant with her third child.




  • Kelly Osbourne


    The 28-year-old television personality suffered a seizure on March 7 on the set of her E! show, "Fashion Police." <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/07/kelly-osbourne-seizure-fashion-star_n_2831255.html" target="_blank">The next day she tweeted</a> that doctors were still "trying to figure out why" it happened.




  • Lil Wayne


    Lil Wayne was hospitalized for seizures in March. The rapper tweeted, "I'm good everybody. Thx for the prayers and love," hours after TMZ reported he was close to death.




  • Kim Kardashian


    The 32-year-old was hospitalized with a pregnancy scare in March. "Kim started feeling ill on the plane from Paris, and called friends as soon as she landed,"<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/07/kim-kardashian-pregnancy_n_2827590.html" target="_blank"> a source told New York Post's Page Six</a>. "She was rushed to her doctor Tuesday night in tears. She thought she was having a miscarriage."




  • Vince Neil


    The Motley Crue singer underwent emergency surgery in March 2013 after walking offstage mid-concert in Sydney, Australia, due to alleged kidney stones. He was rushed to the hospital, cutting short the show.




  • Brooke Burke-Charvet


    Brooke revealed she had thyroid cancer in 2012,<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/23/brooke-burke-charvet-recovery_n_2536787.html" target="_blank"> telling HuffPost Celebrity after her recovery</a>: "I think just hearing the word cancer and just thinking about my kids and knowing that I needed to be OK [was the worst part]. But then I went right into researching and gathering all the medical information. I really needed to be a great patient and be responsible and do what the doctor suggested and just take it very seriously. But I just think -- being so health conscious -- hearing that word [cancer], that’s the scary part of it. And then getting educated balances out that fear."




  • Nick Cannon


    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/11/nick-cannon-kidney-disease-awareness_n_1959105.html" target="_blank">The actor-comedian was hospitalized in January 2012</a> for mild kidney failure and diagnosed with lupus nephritis, followed by another medical visit weeks later due to blood clots in his lungs. Nick was forced to give up his New York City radio gig to focus more on his health.




  • Beyonce


    In her HBO documentary "Life Is But A Dream," Beyonce revealed she had a miscarriage before getting pregnant with her now 18-month-old daughter, Blue Ivy. In May 2013, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/14/is-beyonce-pregnant_n_3272636.html" target="_blank">Bey canceled one of her shows due to "exhaustion and dehydration,"</a> igniting rumors than she is pregnant with baby No. 2. (The rumors were since debunked).




  • Hillary Clinton


    Hillary made headlines when she was hospitalized after Christmas 2012. The condition stemmed from an earlier injury, when she had fainted and struck her head during a trip to Europe. Doctors said her health scare did not result in a stroke or neurological damage, and she was treated with blood thinners.




  • Kate Middleton


    Kate Middleton was hospitalized in London late last year due to a rare pregnancy complication, which can cause severe dehydration and last throughout pregnancy. The hospitalization forced the royal family to announce the pregnancy before the end of Middleton's first trimester.




  • Frankie Muniz


    The "Malcolm in the Middle" star, 26, took to Twitter in early December 2012 to announce he'd suffered a stroke. "Have to start taking care of my body," Muniz tweeted. "Getting old!"




  • Anderson Cooper


    While on assignment in Portugal, the TV personality was temporarily blinded for 36 hours, after sunlight reflecting off water sunburned his eyeballs.




  • Rosie O'Donnell


    Rosie discovered her coronary artery was 99 percent blocked in August 2012. She called her recovery from the condition, which is the leading killer of men and women in the U.S., a "miracle."




  • Jack Osbourne


    Jack was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis on June 18, 2012. He first became concerned that he had a health problem when he noticed that he was rapidly losing his vision -- he lost 80 percent in his right eye.




  • Kathy Bates


    The actress <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20628972,00.html" target="_blank">was diagnosed with breast cancer </a>in Sept. 2012 and underwent a double mastectomy.




  • John Mayer


    In August of 2012, the singer was silenced for a second time by this throat condition, which he had previously undergone surgery for in October of 2011.




  • Paula Deen


    The Food Network star <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/17/paula-deen-diabetes_n_1210049.html" target="_blank">revealed she had Type 2 diabetes</a> last year and takes Victoza, a once-daily noninsulin injection.




  • George Michael


    The British pop singer was hospitalized with a life-threatening bout <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/12/23/george-michael-london-austria-pneumonia_n_1167438.html" target="_blank">of pneumonia in November of 2011</a> while touring in Austria. Then in May 2013, he was <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/george-michael-released-hospital-car-accident-weeks-article-1.1357797" target="_blank">hospitalized for two weeks following a car crash</a>.




  • Adele


    The British singer <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/16/adele-on-the-mend-after-throat-surgery-blog_n_1097583.html" target="_blank">was ordered by doctors</a> to stop singing and even talking for a month in the summer of 2011 due to polyps on her vocal cords. She underwent surgery and was forced her to cancel 14 North American tour dates.




  • Keith Urban


    Around the same time as Adele, country music star Keith successfully underwent surgery for the removal of a vocal cord growth. The singer had announced in November that he would be postponing some performances because of the polyp.




  • Selena Gomez


    The actress and singer blamed her 2011 health scare on her love of junk food. <a href="http://blog.music.aol.com/2012/03/16/selena-gomez-hospital/?flv=1" target="_blank">Gomez landed in the hospital</a> with an iron deficiency and was "very malnourished."




  • Serena Williams


    In early 2011, the tennis star <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/12/serena-williams-back_n_848251.html" target="_blank">was sidelined by blood clots and a hematoma on her stomach,</a> which required several hospital visits.




  • Michael C. Hall


    The "Dexter" star underwent treatment for cancer in 2010. "I feel fortunate to have been diagnosed with an imminently treatable and curable condition, and I thank my doctors and nurses for their expertise and care," <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/13/michael-c-hall-cancer-sho_n_422247.html" target="_blank">Michael said in a statement</a>.




  • Toni Braxton


    In late 2012, the singer was hospitalized because of "minor health issues" related to Lupus.




  • Rihanna


    In May 2012, Rihanna missed an SNL rehearsal due to "fatigue and illness," and was later hospitalized for exhaustion.




  • Sarah Hyland


    In an interview with Seventeen magazine, the "Modern Family" star revealed she had <a href="http://www.seventeen.com/entertainment/features/sarah-hyland-exclusive-interview?link=emb&dom=yah_omg&src=syn&con=art&mag=svn" target="_blank">fought a lifelong battle with kidney dysplasia</a>, a condition in which a baby's kidneys don't develop properly in the womb. In early April 2012, she received a kidney transplant from her father, actor Edward James Hyland.




  • Halle Berry


    In July 2012, Berry was rushed to the hospital after sustaining a head injury on the set of her movie "The Hive." Her rep later reported that Berry "was taken to the hospital as a precaution, but she checked out healthy and was released."