Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns has been diagnosed with bowel cancer, just five months after he suffered a spinal stroke.
Cairns underwent emergency life-saving heart surgery back in August for a torn artery, but suffered from complications which led to a spinal stroke.
The stroke left the 51-year-old paralysed from the waist down and he was only discharged from the University of Canberra Hospital last week after 141 days of inpatient treatment.
Cairns has now revealed that he has been diagnosed with bowel cancer, saying the news came as a "big shock" during what was a "routine checkup".
In a post on Instagram, he wrote: "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.
"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 #notdoneyet #nextfight #letsgo"
Cairns is the son of former New Zealand star Lance Cairns and picked up a total of 402 international wickets and scored more than 8,000 international runs across all formats.
His international career spanned 17 years and saw him become one of just five New Zealand cricketers to score over 1,000 runs and take more than 100 wickets in Test cricket.
