2. Warren Buffett
In 2012, business magnate and philanthropist Warren Buffett, 86, announced to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway that he had been diagnosed with stage 1 prostate cancer after a high reading on a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test, which measures the levels of the PSA enzyme in the blood. Buffett is chairman and CEO of the company and is considered by many to be the most successful investor of the 20th century.
As quoted in the Los Angeles Times, Buffett said of his cancer, “I’ve been told by my doctors that my condition is not remotely life-threatening or even debilitating in any meaningful way.” He subsequently underwent 44 days of radiation therapy, treatment that was called unnecessary by some cancer specialists. In fact, some questioned whether he should have been having PSA tests at all at his age, saying the harms of treating prostate cancer in men older than 75 outweigh the benefits. Buffett himself seemed none the worse for wear from the experience.