Shari Redstone, chair of Paramount Global, has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, a spokesperson for Redstone confirmed Thursday.
“Shari Redstone was diagnosed with thyroid cancer earlier this spring,” the spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News. “While it has been a challenging period, she is maintaining all professional and philanthropic activities throughout her treatment, which is ongoing. She and her family are grateful that her prognosis is excellent.”
No further details were immediately provided. The 71-year-old Redstone is the non-executive chair of the Paramount Board of Directors and the controlling shareholder of National Amusements, Paramount Global’s parent company. Paramount Global is the parent company of CBS News.
Redstone inherited Paramount from her father, the late Sumner Redstone. The Redstone family has controlled Paramount for several decades.
The news comes as Paramount attempts to complete its merger with Skydance Media. The merger has faced complicating factors, most notably President Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit against “60 Minutes” over its interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris last year. The deal also requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission.
According to numbers from the American Cancer Society, thyroid cancer is approximately three times more common in women than men. So far this year, there have been just over 44,000 cases diagnosed in the United States, according to the ACS. Of those, about 31,350 were in women.
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