NEW YORK (AP) – Former Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh has revealed that he has prostate cancer.

“Since we’ve caught it very early, and it’s small and slow-growing, I fully expect to have a rapid and complete recovery,” Lesh, 66, says in a statement on his Web site. He plans to have surgery in early December.

Lesh says he’s been monitored by “a crack team of doctors” since his 1998 liver transplant. One doctor noticed recently that he had elevated levels of prostate specific antigens (PSA), proteins produced by cells of the prostate gland. High PSA levels can indicate prostate cancer.

A biopsy confirmed the diagnosis, Lesh said.

“I am feeling energetic as always, and all my scheduled appearances will occur as planned,” he tells fans. The statement was posted Thursday.

NEW YORK (AP) – Whitney Houston, who has announced her split from Bobby Brown after a tumultuous 14-year marriage, is stepping out as a new woman.

Houston, 43, was escorted to a benefit for juvenile diabetes research in Beverly Hills, Calif., by her longtime record producer, Clive Davis, People magazine reported Monday on its Web site.

“I feel great,” Houston was quoted as saying, while Davis, one of Saturday evening’s honorees, told People: “We’re going to make a killer album.”

A blond Houston, wearing a black gown and diamond earrings, sat at the main table for the 17th Carousel of Hope Ball with Halle Berry and Berry’s boyfriend, model Gabriel Aubry, People said.

“American Idol” runner-up Katharine McPhee sang Houston’s “I Have Nothing” at the event.

“It’s her first big appearance since the breakup,” McPhee, 22, was quoted as saying on the arrivals carpet. “I would love to sing with her, but unfortunately all eyes are on me.”

Houston filed divorce papers in Orange County Superior Court two weeks ago, a month after filing for legal separation from Brown.

In the separation papers, the pop singer asked for custody of the couple’s 13-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina, and that Brown, 37, be allowed visitation rights.

The couple wed in 1992, with Houston at the height of her fame as a Grammy-winning superstar known for hits such as “I Will Always Love You.”

During their marriage, Brown was arrested for drugs and alcohol, and Houston entered drug rehabilitation programs twice.

Brown won acclaim for his gritty R&B songs as a one-time member of the boy band New Edition.

CHICAGO (AP) – Oprah Winfrey has famously given members of her audience new cars, paid off their debts and fulfilled their wildest dreams. Now she’s given them what she calls the “gift of giving back.”

On a show that aired Monday, Winfrey gave more than 300 audience members $1,000 debit cards sponsored by the Bank of America to donate to a charitable cause.

Winfrey called the show her “favorite giveaway ever.”

“I can honestly say that every gift I’ve ever given has brought at least as much happiness to me as it has to the person I’ve given it to,” the 52-year-old talk-show host said. “That’s the feeling I want to pass on to you.”

People can give the entire sum to one person – relatives aren’t eligible – or they can split it among charitable causes. Audience members also received a DVD recorder to tape their stories for a future show.

“You’re going to open your hearts, you’re going to be really creative, and you’re going to spend it all at once on one stranger or spend a dollar on every person,” Winfrey said. “Imagine the love and kindness you can spread with $1,000.”

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) – A Rolling Stones concert at Boardwalk Hall that was canceled due to Mick Jagger’s sore throat has been rescheduled for Nov. 17.

Jagger was ordered to rest after developing the throat ailment, said a statement posted on Boardwalk Hall’s Web site.

The 63-year-old rocker had a bout of laryngitis in August that forced the Stones to reschedule or cancel several dates on their European tour.

Philadelphia-based concert promoter Electric Factory Concerts announced the show would not go on Friday night hours before the doors were to open at the Atlantic City venue. All tickets for the postponed concert were expected to be honored at the rescheduled show.

The Stones were scheduled to play Tuesday at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.