Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein has ‘highly curable’ lymphoma

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein announced Tuesday that he has lymphoma, but described it as “highly curable”.

The Goldman Sachs chief anticipates working “substantially as normal” over the next several months as he receives treatment, including chemotherapy.

Mr Blankfein said: “There are many people who are dealing with cancer every day”.

Shares of the New York company fell $3.28, or 1.8 per cent, to $180.07 in morning trading.

His diagnosis comes about a year after James Dimon, chairman and chief executive of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., told employees he had been diagnosed with throat cancer.

He said he would be undergoing chemotherapy over the next few months and would continue to lead the firm during that time. “I will, however, reduce some of my previously planned travel during the treatment period”, Blankfein wrote in a memo. In an update distributed on the venture bank’s site, Blankfein said it is a “profoundly reparable” type of lymphoma, and his specialists completely anticipate that him will recuperate.

Mr. Blankfein was upbeat on the call, according to one person who listened to it. In his statement, he said “my form of lymphoma is highly curable an my doctors’ and my own expectation is that I will be cured”. “I appreciate your support and good wishes”, he added.

Blankfein, a Brooklyn native and Harvard University graduate who rose through the firm’s currency and commodity trading unit, took over as CEO when Henry Paulson left to become U.S. Treasury Secretary in 2006.

In a statement, Blankfein said he underwent tests after not feeling well in late summer. He is about six years younger than Mr. Blankfein.

Blankfein is one of just two United States bank chief executives to have survived the financial crisis.

He became a billionaire earlier this year when the growth in Goldman’s share price boosted the value of his stake in the firm.