Billionaire investor Warren Buffett on Tuesday disclosed that he has prostate cancer and indicated he will keep running his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. conglomerate as he receives treatment in the coming months.
In a letter to shareholders of the Omaha, Neb., company, Mr. Buffett, 81 years old, disclosed he has stage 1 prostate cancer, an early form of the disease that is treatable. He said he was told by his doctors that his condition "is not remotely life-threatening or even debilitating in any meaningful way."
The Berkshire chairman and chief executive said he received the diagnosis last Wednesday following a routine check and underwent other tests since that "showed no incidence of cancer elsewhere in my body." He expects to begin two months of daily radiation treatment in mid-July, which will restrict his travel "but will not otherwise change my daily routine."
The statement indicated that Mr. Buffett, who has run Berkshire for nearly half a century, doesn't expect to step down from his dual roles managing the conglomerate and overseeing the bulk of its investments. He couldn't be reached for comment late Tuesday.
Medical experts said Mr. Buffett's long-term prognosis is likely good, given that his cancer is in an early stage. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are diagnosed with prostate cancer early, and early forms of the disease are treatable. The American Cancer Society says about 242,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in 2012, and predicts about 28,000 deaths.
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