( CNN ) -- Joe Paterno , the Penn State football coach who lost his job amid allegations of child sex abuse against his former defensive coordinator , has a treatable form of lung cancer , his son said Friday . The family learned of the diagnosis after Paterno 's follow-up visit last weekend for a bronchial illness , Scott Paterno said . `` He is currently undergoing treatment , and his doctors are optimistic that he will make a full recovery , '' Scott Paterno said in a statement . `` As everyone can appreciate , this is a deeply personal matter for my parents , and we simply ask that his privacy be respected as he proceeds with treatment . '' Paterno , 84 , the all-time winningest football coach in Division I history , was fired last week amid the outcry over the handling of the abuse claims . Treatment options include surgery , chemotherapy and radiation , CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen said . `` It is such a difficult , difficult cancer to beat , '' she said . `` Often , it is found pretty late . '' Cohen said that catching the disease early is crucial to improving chances for survival . White men who discover their lung cancer early have a 50-50 chance of being alive five years later . If they catch it late , they have a 4 % chance of being alive five years later , Cohen said . If Paterno is a candidate for surgery , Cohen told `` The Situation Room , '' he may lose at least 20 % of his lungs . Paterno , who served 46 years as head coach in State College , was known to generations of football fans simply as JoePa . National outrage percolated over Paterno 's reaction to a graduate assistant 's 2002 report that he had seen former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky performing anal sex on a young boy in the shower room of the football complex . Paterno said that he 'd never been told the graphic details revealed in a grand jury report about sex abuse allegations but that he nevertheless passed the allegations on to his boss . He said he had done `` what I was supposed to do . '' In a later statement , he said `` with the benefit of hindsight , I wish I had done more . '' It was years before law enforcement learned about the allegation . Friday 's announcement coincides with news of an NCAA investigation at Penn State . `` This unprecedented situation demands the NCAA evaluate the university 's accountability '' and application of NCAA bylaws , NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a letter to the school . CNN contributor Sara Ganim reported from Pennsylvania .
NEW : Treatment options include surgery , radiation and chemotherapy . Joe Paterno has developed a treatable form of lung cancer , his son says . Comment: Paterno has said he wished he had done more after hearing sex abuse allegation .