ABC Sydney radio presenter James Valentine has been diagnosed with oesophageal cancer and will be taking a few months off-air as he undergoes surgery.“The prognosis is that it’ll be fixed, but it’s a pretty dramatic fix. I know many of you have had to deal with this yourself, or had to deal with it in your family. This is hard to listen to,” the 62-year-old said. “But I felt as though I wanted to spend some time and talk to you about it, and let you know what was occurring.
“In early January, I started five weeks of chemotherapy and radiation,” he wrote. “In a few weeks, I will undergo surgery, which is the main treatment for my oesophageal cancer. The surgery will remove my entire oesophagus and then stretch my stomach up and attach it to my throat.“After that, I’m very likely to feel like absolute crap for quite some time. It is likely I will recover, although that may take some months.
Both on-air and in writing, Valentine speaks candidly about his condition, readily sharing details about his chemotherapy and radiation. He even invited Dr Anthony Joshua, a medical oncologist at St Vincent’s Hospitals Sydney, on to his show to explain in detail how cancer treatment works. Following this interview was a segment on men’s health more generally, with the aim of encouraging more men to open up about it without shame.
“Cancer is confronting and of course I’m equal parts hopeful and terrified. I hope I’ll be OK, but I also know that I won’t be the same,” he wrote. “Lord knows what I’ll be like a few months from now. I think I’ll be fine. That’s my ending. But right now, I’m still at the beginning.”Valentine’s temporary replacement will be announced on-air tomorrow afternoon.
Health Health Latest News, Health Health Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: smh - 🏆 6. / 80 Read more »
Source: brisbanetimes - 🏆 13. / 67 Read more »