ANDREW: I'LL BEAT PROSTATE CANCER; Composer vows to be back at work next year.

Byline: Mark Jefferies

ANDREW Lloyd Webber yesterday vowed to beat prostate cancer after revealing he is fighting the disease.

The theatre composer and TV star, 61, began treatment for the disease on Saturday evening after being admitted to an unnamed private hospital.

The man behind hit musicals Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats and Starlight Express has cleared work commitments from his diary for the next month.

He is expected to spend the rest of the year concentrating on treatment and recovery.

Prostate cancer kills up to 10,000 men in the UK every year.

But brave Andrew has told friends he wants to be back working by the end of the year.

And 2010 is scheduled to be one of his busiest years ever.

Setback

It will see the launch of Love Never Dies, the sequel to Phantom Of The Opera, and a BBC TV series searching for cast members for The Wizard Of Oz. A spokesman for the composer said: "Andrew is now undergoing treatment and expects to be fully back at work before the end of the year."

A source close to the star said he had gone into hospital to begin treatment over the weekend.

They added: "Andrew is always working on something but now he has cleared his schedule for the next month.

"It is a setback and a huge shock, but he is confident of making a full recovery and does not want this to overshadow his new production Love Never Dies.

"He will have treatment for the next few days and hopes to be back working full-time once the production gets into full swing."

Andrew's last high profile public appearance was on October 8 when he launched Love Never Dies at Her Majesty's Theatre in London.

It is thought that he learned of the news of his cancer at around this time.

At the launch, cast members revealed that full rehearsals would not start until January.

Andrew has finished his work on the music for the production, and from now until the January rehearsals the building of the set and minor castings can continue without him.

At the launch, Andrew said that, while the story picks up where Phantom left off, he doesn't see it as a sequel and he regards it as "a standalone piece".

But Andrew said he was inspired to write the musical because "there's unfinished business".

In Love Never Dies, the Phantom leaves Paris for Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, at the turn of the century, which Andrew described as being like Las Vegas "and then triple it".

Producers say that the original Phantom - a fixture of the London and New York stages - has been seen by more than 100million people.

Last month, it became the longest-running show in Broadway history, brushing aside his other musical Cats.

DISEASE KILLS 10,000 A YEAR

PROSTATE cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK.

Every year, there are more than 34,000 diagnoses and10,000 men die from it.

In some patients, it is slow growing and may not affect them.

In others, it is aggressive and deadly without treatment.

If still contained in the prostate gland, the options will include surgical removal of the prostate, radiotherapy or surveillance, where the cancer is monitored and radical treatment only started if it appears that the cancer is growing.

Radical treatment often has side-effects, such as incontinence and erectile dysfunction.

Prostate cancer becomes more common with age.

It becomes a significant problem for men from their late 40s onwards.

Men over 50, those with a family history of the disease and African Caribbean men, who are all at increased risk, have a right to request a PSA blood test from their GP.

CAPTION(S):

LETHAL: Cancer cells COMPOSED: Lloyd Webber at work