Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, 56, has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, according to an email sent by his sister to employees of Allen's investment company, Vulcan.
"Paul is feeling O.K. and remains upbeat," Jody Allen, Vulcan's chief executive, wrote in the message, The New York Times reported. "He continues to work and he has no plans to change his role at Vulcan. His health comes first, though, and we'll be sure that nothing intrudes on that."
The diagnosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was made this month. It's a relatively common form of lymphoma.
In 1983, Paul Allen was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease and left Microsoft to undergo radiation therapy and a bone marrow transplant. He never returned to day-to-day operations at Microsoft, but his stock in the company made him the 17th richest man in the United States, The Times reported.