Former New Zealand allrounder Chris Cairns has been diagnosed with bowel cancer. The 51-year-old revealed this news himself on Instagram.
Chris Cairns, who was only recently discharged after being hospitalised with a heart attack and paraplegia, said that this news came as a “big shock” to him when he went for a routine health checkup on Friday.
“As far as weeks go, I thought that Tom Brady retiring was going to be the low point this week… but as it turned out, TB12’s retirement comes a distant second,” Cairns wrote on Instagram.
“I was told yesterday I have bowel cancer…big shock and not what I was expecting after what was supposed to be a routine checkup.
“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…and how blessed I am to have all that I do in my life. Wasn’t all bad this week either, managed to get in some kids sport and celebrate (son) Noah’s birthday at home.
“Another fight ahead but here’s hoping this one is a swift upper cut and over in the first round.”
Here’s Chris Cairns’s Instagram post:
View this post on Instagram
In August last year, Cairns suffered an aortic dissection after suffering a heart attack. He was also on life support during that period. Further complications meant he was left paralysed from the waist down after suffering a stroke in his spine.
On January 28, Cairns had announced that after 141 days as an inpatient at the University of Canberra Hospital, he was heading home for good, before he learned about bowel cancer on Friday.
Cairns, son of former Test player Lance Cairns, played 62 Tests, 215 ODIs, and 2 T20Is for New Zealand between 1989 and 2006. He scored 3320 runs at an average of 33 in Tests and took 218 wickets. In ODIs, he amassed 4950 runs at 29 and picked up 201 wickets.
