Already coping with a host of health issues, former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns on Saturday revealed that he has been diagnosed with bowel cancer. (More Cricket News)
The 51-year-old had undergone four open-heart surgeries but was left paralysed by a spinal stroke on the operating table five months ago. He was living in the University of Canberra hospital in a special rehabilitation facility.
“Another fight ahead but here’s hoping this one is a swift upper-cut and over in the first round,” Cairns, who played 62 Tests and 215 ODIs for New Zealand between 1989 to 2006, said on social media.
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“I was told yesterday I have bowel cancer... big shock and not what I was expecting. So, as I prepare for another round of conversations with surgeons and specialists, I keep remembering how lucky I am to be here in the first place,” he said.
The Canberra-based Cairns suffered an aortic dissection – an often-fatal rare heart condition – in August and was on life support and required urgent heart surgeries last September. However, during the operation, Cairns suffered a stroke which left him paralysed in both legs.
