Warren Buffett has prostate cancer

The longtime head of Berkshire Hathaway says the disease is in stage-1 and that his doctors have told him it is "not remotely life-threatening or even debilitating in any meaningful way." From a letter he released to shareholders this afternoon:

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.

Buffett said earlier that that the Berkshire board had decided on a leading candidate to be his eventual successor, though that person was not identified and no time line was mentioned. Buffett is 81.