California Gov. Jerry Brown

California Gov. Jerry Brown (Max Whittaker/Getty Images)

SACRAMENTO (CBS/AP) - California Gov. Jerry Brown is being treated with radiation for early stage prostate cancer.

The 74-year-old Brown is receiving a short course of conventional radiotherapy for “localized prostate cancer,” the statement said.

Brown’s “prognosis is excellent, and there are not expected to be any significant side effects,” University of California, San Francisco oncologist Eric Small said.

[ READ MORE: Governor Brown Being Treated For Prostate Cancer ]

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Sir Ian McKellen

Diagnosed with Prostate Cancer

(CBS NEWS) - Actor Ian McKellen told the U.K.'s Daily Mirror in an article published on Tuesday that he's had prostate cancer for the last six or seven years, but that it is "contained."

"I've had prostate cancer for six or seven years," "The Hobbit" actor told the paper. "When you have got it you monitor it and you have to be careful it doesn't spread. But if it is contained in the prostate it's no big deal."

The 73-year-old British actor said he goes to get check-ups frequently but so far it has remained contained.

"Many, many men die from it but it's one of the cancers that is totally treatable," he said. "I am examined regularly and it's just contained, it's not spreading. I've not had any treatment."

McKellen's latest film "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" hits theaters Friday. [ Ian McKellen Has Prostate Cancer, Report Says ]

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Timothy Leary

Died of Prostate Cancer

(Photo credit by AP Photo)

Telly Savalas

Died of Prostate Cancer

(Photo credit by AP Photo)

Rudy Giuliani

Prostate Cancer Survivor

(Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Roger Moore

Prostate Cancer Survivor

(Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Robert Goulet

Prostate Cancer Survivor

(Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images for Chanel)

American Poet, Robert Frost

Died of Prostate Cancer

(Photo credit by AP Photo)

Robert DeNiro

Prostate Cancer Survivor

(Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau

Died of Prostate Cancer

(Photo credit should read AFP/Getty Images)

Phil Lesh

Prostate Cancer Survivor

(Photo by Cory Schwartz/Getty Images)

Pablo Neruda

Died of Prostate Cancer

(Photo credit by AP Photo)

Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf

Prostate Cancer Survivor

(Photo credit by AP Photo)

Nelson Mandela

Prostate Cancer Survivor

(Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Merv Griffin

Prostate Cancer Survivor

(Photo credit by AP Photo)

Marion Barry

Prostate Cancer Survivor

(Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for HBO)

Louis Farrakhan

Prostate Cancer Survivor

(Photo by AP Photo/Matt York)

Linus Pauling

Died of Prostate Cancer

(Photo credit by AP Photo)

Laurence Olivier

Prostate Cancer Survivor

(Photo credit by AP Photo)

Langston Hughes

Was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, but died after complications from abdominal surgery related to Prostate Cancer

(Photo credit by AP Photo)

Johnny Ramone

Died of Prostate Cancer

(Photo credit by AP Photo)

John Kerry

Prostate Cancer Survivor

(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Joe Torre

Prostate Cancer Survivor

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Jerry Orbach

Died of Prostate Cancer

(Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images)

James Brown

Was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, but died of other causes

(Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Harry Belafonte

Prostate Cancer Survivor

(Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Frank Zappa

Died of Prostate Cancer

(Photo credit by AP Photo)

Earl Woods

Died of Prostate Cancer

(Photo credit by AP Photo/Victoria Arocho)

Bishop Desmond Tutu

Prostate Cancer Survivor

(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Dennis Hopper

Died of Prostate Cancer

(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Colin Powell

Prostate Cancer Survivor

(Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Charlton Heston

Was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, but died of other causes

(Photo by FREDERICK M. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)

Sen. Bob Dole

Prostate Cancer Survivor

(Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)

Bill Bixby

Died of Prostate Cancer

(Photo credit by AP Photo)

Barry Bostwick

Prostate Cancer Survivor

(Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Arnold Palmer

Prostate Cancer Survivor

(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Andrew Lloyd Weber

Diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in 2009

(Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images)

Sir Alec Guinness

Was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, but died of other causes

(Photo by STF/AFP/Getty Images)