Seahawks owner Paul Allen re-starts fight against cancer

Paul Allen has re-started cancer treatment, the Seahawks owner and Microsoft Corporation co-founder announced Monday.

“Some personal news: Recently, I learned the non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma I battled in 2009 has returned,” Allen posted on his Twitter account Monday. “I’ve begun treatment & my doctors are optimistic that I will see a good result. Appreciate the support I’ve received & count on it as I fight this challenge.”

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is “cancer that originates in your lymphatic system, the disease-fighting network spread throughout your body,” according to the Mayo Clinic. “In non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, tumors develop from lymphocytes—a type of white blood cell.”

This is the third time Allen, 65, has been diagnosed with cancer.

In his book Idea Man he wrote he recovered from Hodgkin’s lymphoma after a diagnosis in late 1982. Allen was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2009. Reports were he received chemotherapy.

Allen’s philanthropy has made his a hero in Seattle and around the world. He recently contributed $30 million to build apartments in Seattle for homeless and low-income residents, striking out against perhaps the city’s biggest civic crisis in a meteoric housing market. It is the largest single donation in Washington state history for a housing or homelessness project.

Allen is a frequent visitor to Seahawks practices, including August during the team’s training camp, and at road games. He is a constant presence in the locker room at CenturyLink Field greeting players after home games.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has praised Allen for his support throughout the eight years since the owner hired Carroll from USC to lead his NFL franchise.

On Monday, Carroll led off his weekly press conference wishing Allen the best in his latest fight.

“I’m sure you saw the announcement about Paul battle that he’s facing. We know that Paul has been through this before,” Carroll said. “He battled like a real warrior last time. He made it through it.

The signals are that there will be a real positive outcome. We’re all pulling for him, too. We are grateful for all that he stands for in this community, and for all of us. We’re going to join together and battle along with him through this process he’s going through that he knows very well.

“We’re thinking only good thoughts.”

This story was originally published October 1, 2018 at 10:04 PM.