Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin admitted he was wrong to hide his cancer diagnosis and subsequent hospitalization, though he maintained he never directed his staff to hide his trip to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

The secretary was diagnosed with prostate cancer in early December, had surgery to treat it on Dec. 22, 2023, and was hospitalized with complications on Jan. 1. He stayed in the hospital for two weeks. He briefly gave up some of his authorities to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, while the White House, Congress, and the public were not notified of his hospitalization for days.

“I never directed anyone” to hide the January hospitalization from the White House, he told reporters on Thursday, his first time taking questions from the press since his hospitalization. “To answer your question on whether or not I directed my staff to conceal my hospitalization from anyone else, the answer’s no.”

Austin resumed his duties on Jan. 5, was released from the hospital on Jan. 15, and worked remotely while continuing to recover until his first day back in the Pentagon this Monday.

“I was being treated for prostate cancer,” he said. “The news shook me, and I know that it shakes so many others, especially in the black community. It was a gut punch, and, frankly, my first instinct was to keep it private. I don’t think it’s news that I’m a pretty private guy. I never like burdening others with my problems. It’s just not my way. But, I’ve learned from this experience.”

The secretary said that his cancer was a “highly treatable form” and that the complications “are highly, highly unusual.”

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Austin directed his assistant to call an ambulance on Jan. 1 when he was experiencing “severe leg pain and pain in the abdomen and hip,” and the aid asked the dispatcher if the ambulance could come without its lights and sirens. The secretary said he only asked the aid to call 911, not ask responders to arrive secretly.

The Pentagon and White House have made changes to their protocols and policies regarding the transfer of power from Cabinet-level officials, while the department’s inspector general is looking at what took place during Austin’s hospitalization.