NATCHEZ — Former Mayor and Mississippi Department of Transportation commissioner Larry “Butch” Brown recently discovered his prostate cancer has come back for the third time since 2008, but he said everything is business-as-usual at work and at home on his end.

Blood work taken during a routine doctor visit in October in Natchez revealed his prostate-specific antigen level, or PSA level, was high.

“(Doctors) performed additional biopsies and found that I do have more — and a more powerful — reoccurrence of cancer in my prostate, so now we’re looking at surgical removal,” Brown said.

Despite his diagnosis, Brown said he feels perfectly normal.

“If doctor hadn’t told me I was sick I wouldn’t know I was sick — I feel just fine,” Brown said.

Brown’s surgery is set for mid-January at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

“(Cancer) is just a nasty thing that unfortunately some of us get and have to deal with, but good news is now we’re much more capable of dealing with it,” he said.

Brown said when he was first diagnosed in 2008 with prostate cancer; the doctors treated him with radioactive seeds.

He said he discovered approximately a year later the seeds failed to rid him of his cancer, even though his doctors said the seed treatment statistically successful in 98 percent of patients who receive it.

At that point, Brown received radiation therapy, which he thought was successful.

“But there are no guarantees in medicine,” Brown said.

Brown said a team of four medical professionals specializing in surgery is overseeing his case at M.D. Anderson.

Brown’s doctor at the University Medical Center in Jackson recommended he have the surgery at the Houston cancer center because the previous treatments Brown underwent will make the removal surgery more complicated and difficult, Brown said.

Brown said his surgeon and his team in Houston specialize in the complicated surgery he will require, so it was the best decision to seek treatment there.

“I have some anxieties about surgeries, but I’m actually looking forward to getting it over and done with,” Brown said.

Brown said his surgeon will be performing robotic surgery, which is less invasive.

Brown said wanted to encourage all men in the Natchez area to have prostate exams and PSA levels checked on a regular basis.

“I suggest (getting PSA levels checked) every six months, and lots of doctors suggests it too; it’s a simple blood test,” Brown said.

Brown said statistics show prostate cancer is extremely common among men.

“It’s not a very difficult thing to deal with if you find it early, but if it lingers or manifests into something (more serious), it can become difficult,” Brown said.

As far as his own health, Brown said he is living his life as usual.

“I’m just going to keep doing what I’ve always done — try to stay out of trouble, keep doing things for MDOT and the City of Natchez and playing with my grandchildren — that sort of thing,” Brown said.

“I’m gonna be here a long time — trust me. The people of Natchez and the people of Mississippi are going to have to put up with me for a long time.”