The Navy revealed on Friday that Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti was treated for breast cancer in July.
Franchetti, the Navy’s top officer, received a diagnosis of stage 1 breast cancer in late June after a routine screening, the service said in a released statement. She underwent “successful outpatient surgery in July” at Walter Reed National Medical Center in Maryland and is now cancer free, according to the service.
The news of the earlier cancer diagnosis and treatment comes after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin battled prostate cancer in relative secrecy last winter until health complications left him hospitalized, forcing him to acknowledge the condition publicly.
The Navy’s statement said that, during her surgery, Franchetti temporarily transferred her authority to the vice chief of naval operations.
Franchetti also began maintenance endocrine therapy this month.
The statement Friday was the first public acknowledgment of Franchetti’s condition or that there was a period when she was not leading the Navy.
However, her spokeswoman, Cmdr. Desiree Frame, told Military.com that Franchetti notified top officials, including Austin; the deputy secretary of defense; the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the Navy secretary; and the master chief petty officer of the Navy when she was diagnosed in June and again before and after her surgery in August.
“Adm. Franchetti is releasing this statement now to highlight the importance of early screening,” Frame said. Her treatment in August and transition to maintenance endocrine therapy earlier this month was due in large part to early detection.
“I am grateful for my wonderful team of doctors at John P. Murtha Cancer Center for their excellent care and their development of a treatment plan that allows me to continue leading the world’s greatest navy,” Franchetti said in her statement. “I am blessed that this was detected early and will forever be an advocate for early and routine screening.”
She is the latest in a series of top military officials to publicly reveal health issues only after having undergone treatment.
Her predecessor, Adm. Mike Gilday, became ill during a run in August 2020 and underwent heart surgery. The public found out about that incident nearly two months later and only because reporters began asking questions.
More recently, Austin underwent elective prostate cancer surgery on Dec. 22. A week later, he was admitted to intensive care after he developed severe complications.
None of those details was made public or told to the White House for days.
After the Pentagon revealed the hospitalization, questions followed, and it became clear that Austin’s inner circle knew about the hospitalization but waited days to inform President Joe Biden, Congress and the American people.
Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters in the days that followed that a series of issues — including Austin’s chief of staff coming down with the flu and his own failure to ask follow-up questions — was to blame for the public and key government officials being unaware the defense secretary was sidelined at Walter Reed.
The incident is still under investigation and continues to have political consequences for Austin.
Related: Tuberville Holds Up Promotion of Austin’s Top Aide over Hospitalization Secrecy
