SEATTLE – Microsoft co-founder and Vulcan founder Paul Allen has been diagnosed with cancer.
According to a memo sent out on Monday, Vulcan CEO Jody Allen, who is Paul Allen's sister, told employees that Paul has non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
He was diagnosed in early November and has begun chemotherapy. Doctors say he has diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, a relatively common form of lymphoma, according to the memo.
About 25 years ago, Paul Allen fought and beat Hodgkin's disease.
Jody Allen says Paul is still working and is not planning to change his role at Vulcan.
Vulcan spokesman, David Postman, said just this September, Allen talked to reporters in Portland about his health.
"He said he was feeling great, felt like he'd really turned the corner on the heart stuff and was upbeat and energetic and looking good. So I think this must have been a shock to him as well."
In a statement, Allen’s friend Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said he and his wife Melinda "have Paul and his family in our thoughts and prayers. Paul is among my closest friends, and I know him to be a strong and resilient individual."
