NEW YORK (Reuters) - Controversial U.S. radio host Don Imus announced on Monday he has Stage II prostate cancer, meaning the cancer has not spread to other organs.

Imus, among the highest-rated radio hosts in the United States, caused a scandal in 2007 when he referred to a mostly black women's basketball team as "nappy headed hos." The phrase combines a term for short, curly hair with slang for whore and was widely criticized as racially charged and offensive.

Imus apologized but the comment got him fired from CBS Radio. He has since resumed his "Imus in the Morning" show with ABC Radio Networks, owned by Citadel Broadcasting Corp.

"Last Wednesday I was diagnosed with Stage II prostate cancer ... it's confined to the prostate," Imus, 68, told his listeners.

"They (his doctors) are predicting they can treat it so that they can cure it," Imus said.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Eric Walsh)