Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
His management agency Brown Lloyd James said the condition was in its very early stages and he expected to "be fully back at work before the end of the year".
Lord Lloyd-Webber, 61, is best known for a string of hit musicals including The Phantom Of The Opera.
Earlier this month the theatre impresario launched the long-awaited sequel to Phantom, Love Never Dies, at Her Majesty's Theatre in London.
Phantom, which has been seen by some 100 million people worldwide, opened some 23 years ago.
His other musicals include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Starlight Express.
Prostate cancer affects around 35,000 men in the UK each year and kills just over 10,000.
The disease is the most common cancer in British men, accounting for a quarter of all new cases.
The cancer mainly affects men over the age of 50, with symptoms which can include pain in the lower back, pelvis and hips.
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