Blankfein wrote on the firm's website Tuesday that he underwent a series of tests after not feeling well for several weeks. The executive said he'll receive chemotherapy in New York over the next several months as part of his cancer treatment plan.
He will be reducing his travel, but expects to be able to "work substantially as normal."
"My doctors' and my own expectation is that I will be cured," Blankfein said.
Last year JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon disclosed he had throat cancer, for which he was successfully treated. Born in the Bronx and raised in public housing, Blankfein has been a near life-long employee of Goldman, rising through the ranks in the firm's commodities trading business.
While Goldman Sachs was forced to take billions in bailout money in a program set up by Paulson, it was largely considered one of the healthiest firms and did not suffer the same fate as rivals Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, which failed.
Goldman walked away a leaner but stronger and the collapse of its rivals helped Goldman secure its place as a leading consultant for large corporations. It recently became a member of the 30-component Dow Jones industrial average and is now looking to expand into new types of businesses and lending.