US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has prostate cancer, the hospital treating him says. The disease was recognized early and the prognosis for a cure is “excellent,” the hospital near Washington announced on Tuesday. The 70-year-old has been hospitalized since the beginning of the year due to complications following an operation at the end of December. The prostate cancer was diagnosed at the beginning of December, the hospital announced. Shortly before Christmas, Austin underwent a minimally invasive surgical procedure. Austin “recovered from the operation without any problems and returned …