Cardinal Francis George weathered well a five-hour operation Thursday to remove his bladder, prostate gland, part of his right ureter and several lymph nodes, but the prognosis for his newly diagnosed cancer won't be known until late next week, when pathology results are back, his doctors said.

"I'm happy to report good news," Dr. Myles Sheehan, George's personal physician of three years who is also a Jesuit priest, told reporters at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood about an hour after the cardinal's surgery was completed. "We are very hopeful for the best possible result, and we are confident that the cardinal will be able to return to his active work as the archbishop of Chicago."

George, 69, announced Wednesday that he had been diagnosed with bladder cancer and would undergo radical surgery. Thursday, his physicians at Loyola revealed that George also suffers from cancer of the ureter, which is generally considered more dangerous than bladder cancer.