Warren Buffett's statement on his cancer diagnosis

By David Colker

April 17, 2012 12 AM PT

Warren Buffett issued this statement on the Berkshire Hathaway website Tuesday afternoon:

“To the Shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway:

This is to let you know that I have been diagnosed with stage I prostate cancer. The good
news is that I’ve been told by my doctors that my condition is not remotely lifethreatening
or even debilitating in any meaningful way.

I received my diagnosis last Wednesday. I then had a CAT scan and a bone scan on Thursday, followed by an MRI today. These tests showed no incidence of cancer elsewhere in my body.

My doctors and I have decided on a two-month treatment of daily radiation to begin in
mid-July. This regimen will restrict my travel during that period, but will not otherwise
change my daily routine.

I feel great – as if I were in my normal excellent health – and my energy level is 100
percent. I discovered the cancer because my PSA level (an indicator my doctors had
regularly checked for many years) recently jumped beyond its normal elevation and a
biopsy seemed warranted.

I will let shareholders know immediately should my health situation change. Eventually,
of course, it will; but I believe that day is a long way off.”

The statement from the 81-year-old Buffett was issued after the close of markets. Berkshire Hathaway’s class A shares dropped 1.5% in after-hours trading, wiping out regular session gains. The stock closed up $1,785, or 1.5%, at $121,310.

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