Actor Louis Gossett Jr. has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and has started an intensive treatment program to battle the disease.

Gossett, best known for his Oscar-winning role in the 1982 movie “An Officer and a Gentleman”, said his cancer was detected in the early stages and he is going public to encourage African-Americans to seek preventative exams and early treatment.

“I count this diagnosis among the many challenges I have faced in my life and overcome. I expect this to be no different,” Gossett, 73, said in a statement.

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