Vince Flynn, author of the popular Mitch Rapp series, announced today via his emailed fan newsletter that he has Stage III metastatic prostate cancer. The November diagnosis "would have been a death sentence" just a few years ago, he wrote, then voiced hope about advances in hormone therapy and new drug trials, praising Minnesota's "great medical care."

"My treatments are working very well, and my near term prognosis is extremely good. In other words I have a more than a few Rapp novels left in me," he wrote.

He called the disease "a battle I do not plan on losing. As with any cancer, this is serious, but the good news is that I have lots of options for slowing this thing down, and then hopefully killing it."

Update: Flynn emailed in this morning (2/01) to add this: "My current treatment is, thankfully, boring. Other than hot flashes and some pain, I feel better than I have in years. I'm being treated in town by one of the top urologists and an amazing doctor down at Mayo....This thing is going to be a nasty fight, so for now I am enjoying the relative simplicity of the treatments and trying to enjoy every moment, especially those with my family and friends."