Warren Buffett has been diagnosed with stage 1 non life-threatening prostate cancer. The 81 year old Berkshire Hathaway Inc. CEO said in a one page letter to the shareholders of the company on April 17.

The announcement caused Berkshire shares to fall 1.5 per cent in after-hours trading.

In the typical non-nonsense tone that has become synonymous with the Buffett name, he said that the cancer was in a curable stage, and that he will begin daily radiation therapy in July, standard care for prostate cancer patients.

Classic Buffett, he wrote that “my energy level is 100 percent,” and insured that he will keep his shareholders updated on his health situation.

News about the illness comes as the conglomerate is fielding questions about succession plan within the company. Berkshire employs more than 270,000 people across 70 businesses. The illness will apply pressure on the succession debate as the company prepares for its annual general meeting on May 5.

On Monday Republicans blocked the Buffett Rule, a proposal outlined in a 2011 New York Times op-ed in which Buffett argued that the rich should be taxed more.

According to a Reuters interview, Buffett’s long time friend and Fortune writer Carol Loomis said the only change to his daily routine has been him “skipping his regular Monday night online bridge game.”

The letter outlined that he had received the diagnosis last Wednesday and had followed it up with a CAT scan, a bone scan, and an MRI.

One in six American male will get prostate cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

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May Jeong is Toronto Standard’s business editor. Follow her on Twitter @mayjeong.

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