Pioneering soul musician James Brown announced Friday that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

"I have overcome a lot of things in my life," the 71-year-old Brown -- who is also diabetic -- said in a statement released Friday morning (December 10). "I will overcome this as well."

Brown, who completed a two-week Canadian tour on Thursday night, will undergo surgery for the disease on December 15. He is expected to spend three weeks recovering from the procedure.

Fans can send get-well wishes to Brown at the following address: JB@intriguemusic.com.

Brown plans to release an autobiography titled "I Feel Good: A Memoir of a Life of Soul" in January, and is slated to launch the next leg of his Seven Decades of Funk World Tour in Asia and Australia at the beginning of 2005. In February, he will release a new single with the Black Eyed Peas that will appear on their new album.