EFN

World-renowned composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is reportedly battling prostate cancer. Webber, 61, vows to beat the disease.

A representative for Webber says the prostate cancer was caught in the early stages. “Andrew is now undergoing treatment and expects to be fully at work before the end of the year.”

At this time, it is not known what type of medical treatment is being used to treat the prostate cancer, or what hospital Webber is staying at.

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men in the UK, with 35,000 being diagnosed in the country each year, with most men 50 years of age and older. Approximately 10,000 will die in the UK due to prostate cancer this year alone.

Webber is set for a very active 2010, with a BBC TV series looking for cast members for a new production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’, and his new musical ‘Love Never Dies’, the continuation to his hit ‘Phantom of the Opera’.

“Love Never Dies” is set in Coney Island in New York, 10 years after the story of “Phantom,” as the title character moves from the Paris Opera House to the fairgrounds of Coney Island. The London production will star Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom and Sierra Boggess as Christine. Lloyd Webber said that although the story carries on where “Phantom” left off, he does not consider it as a sequel, “it’s a standalone piece.” However, Lloyd Webber said he was inspired to write the musical because “there’s unfinished business.”