Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson returned to host his television program "The 700 Club," a week after successful surgery to remove a cancerous prostate gland.
Robertson's recovery was so robust that he went back to work a week ahead of schedule, said his Virginia Beach-based Christian Broadcasting Network.
"I am profoundly grateful and touched by the thousands of prayers and expressions of goodwill that were made on my behalf by people all across the United States," Robertson said in a statement Monday.
Robertson, 72, said he hopes his example will serve as a reminder to men older than 50 to get early screenings for prostate cancer.
Robertson had said on "The 700 Club" that he was diagnosed shortly after Christmas.
Dr. Arnon Krongrad performed a laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, a form of minimally invasive surgery, on Robertson at North Shore Medical Center in Miami, CBN said. The cancer had spread to the edge of the prostate but not into the adjoining tissues, and Robertson was declared cancer-free after the surgery, CBN said.