New battle as Cairns diagnosed with cancer

Just a week after being discharged from long hospital stay following his lifethreatening ordeal, cricketing legend shares more shock health news.

‘‘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.’’ Chris Cairns

Former Black Caps star Chris Cairns has revealed he has been diagnosed with bowel cancer.

Just a week after being discharged from hospital in Canberra following a life-threatening heart attack and paraplegia, the New Zealand cricket legend has now shared more shock health news.

In an Instagram post yesterday, Cairns, 51, 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.’’

In the wake of his heart attack in August last year, Cairns, who played 62 tests, 215 ODIs and two

T20Is for the Black Caps between 1989 and 2006, suffered an aortic dissection, which left him on life support in a Sydney hospital.

Then, from one of his four open-heart surgeries, a stroke in his spine left him paralysed from the waist down.

Unsure if he would ever be able to walk again, Cairns had been making solid progress in his rehab, journaling his recovery on social media.

In October he reported a positive ‘‘flickering’’ in his right ankle, then in December, in an interview with Stuff, revealed he had been given permission for a two-night clearance from hospital to celebrate Christmas with family.

A few days later, Cairns shared his ‘‘best day of rehab yet’’ when he stood unaided in a hydrotherapy pool, then last month literally took his first steps on his long road to recovery.

Just last Friday, the father of four had posted a ‘‘bittersweet farewell’’ message after 141 days as an inpatient at University of Canberra Hospital, announcing he was ‘‘finally heading home for good’’.