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OXON HILL, Md. -- Myles Brand, the 66-year-old president of the NCAA, said Saturday that he has pancreatic cancer.

In a statement issued on the last day of the NCAA convention, Brand said he is being treated for the cancer and that his long-term prognosis is "not good."

The NCAA announced last week that its 66-year-old president was undergoing treatment, but the nature of the illness was not revealed until Saturday.

Brand, who was not able to attend the convention because of his condition, said in his statement that he was receiving excellent care. He added that he should know if the treatment is successful in the "next several months."

"Having been blessed with good health all my life, it is particularly frustrating to have to miss significant portions of the convention to attend to a medical condition," the memo said. "Nevertheless, I have promised to be a good patient and follow my doctors' requests."

Brand concluded his statement by thanking supporters who had wished him well since the NCAA announced last week he was sick. No nature of the illness was given at the time, but Brand wrote in a memo to convention delegates Tuesday he would attend only the final day of the convention.