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BROADCASTER Alan Jones has revealed he has prostate cancer but remains hopeful of a full recovery.
The talkback radio host said he would be off work for several weeks while he had surgery but he would return to his breakfast slot on Sydney radio station 2GB when he had recovered.
"Of course I will be returning to air, I've got to make a quid," Jones said.
The former Wallabies coach called a press concerence today, where he said he had been diagnosed with the cancer after undergoing a biopsy.
"The prospect of full recovery is very significant," he said.
He said while he expected many listeners would be empathetic, it was "terribly important not to be self-indulgent about these things".
"I am getting on with it and I want you to as well," Jones said when asked if he had a message for his listeners.
Jones said he kept his diagnosis secret from family, friends and colleagues until Tuesday.
"I was only able to indicate to the board these matters the day before yesterday in the sense that I felt it was best that people don't know because people worry about these things and the fewer people who are worrying the better," he said.
"I know that the board has been very supportive and the intention is that I will continue here.
"If you lose intellectual rigour you tend to wither a little. I don't intend to wither, not just yet anyway."
The 67-year-old is Sydney's highest-rating radio personality.
Jones said he was diagnosed in May after doctors examined 20 samples, and his cancer had been described as in the mid-range in terms of seriousness.
The surgery would be carried out at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital in two weeks, and Jones said he intended to be on air until the eve of the operation.
He said he was maintaining a positive outlook and was confident he had the best medical team.
The veteran broadcaster has been plagued by health and low energy problems this year which forced him off air for a number of weeks.
Jones - who recently bought a $4.5 million apartment at Avoca Beach, on the NSW Central Coast - signed a seven-year contract with Macquarie's 2GB in February 2002 which expires early next year.
He has maintained a relentless workload during the past two decades but last month he was caught napping at a Michael Buble concert at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.
He also declined to host a tribute to former prime minister John Howard in May due to illness.
Prostate cancer is Victoria's most common internal cancer in men, with nearly 4000 diagnosed each year.
TV comic and football legend Sam Newman recently fought the disease.
High-profile survivors of prostate cancer include Demon star Robbie Flower, playwright Alan Hopgood, Treasurer Wayne Swan and billionaire Richard Pratt
In 1995, legendary Bulldog Ted Whitten died at the age of 62 from the disease.
The EJ Whitten Foundation, which held its annual charity football match on Tuesday night, has launched a bold prostate awareness campaign, putting up posters in public toilets urging men to have a blood test for the cancer.
Men with a family history of prostate cancer are urged to see a doctor for a test from the age of 40.
All men over 50 should at least have a blood test, if not a digital rectal examination, health authorities say.
The talkback radio host said he would be off work for several weeks while he had surgery but he would return to his breakfast slot on Sydney radio station 2GB when he had recovered.
"Of course I will be returning to air, I've got to make a quid," Jones said.
The former Wallabies coach called a press concerence today, where he said he had been diagnosed with the cancer after undergoing a biopsy.
"The prospect of full recovery is very significant," he said.
He said while he expected many listeners would be empathetic, it was "terribly important not to be self-indulgent about these things".
"I am getting on with it and I want you to as well," Jones said when asked if he had a message for his listeners.
Jones said he kept his diagnosis secret from family, friends and colleagues until Tuesday.
"I was only able to indicate to the board these matters the day before yesterday in the sense that I felt it was best that people don't know because people worry about these things and the fewer people who are worrying the better," he said.
"I know that the board has been very supportive and the intention is that I will continue here.
"If you lose intellectual rigour you tend to wither a little. I don't intend to wither, not just yet anyway."
The 67-year-old is Sydney's highest-rating radio personality.
Jones said he was diagnosed in May after doctors examined 20 samples, and his cancer had been described as in the mid-range in terms of seriousness.
The surgery would be carried out at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital in two weeks, and Jones said he intended to be on air until the eve of the operation.
He said he was maintaining a positive outlook and was confident he had the best medical team.
The veteran broadcaster has been plagued by health and low energy problems this year which forced him off air for a number of weeks.
Jones - who recently bought a $4.5 million apartment at Avoca Beach, on the NSW Central Coast - signed a seven-year contract with Macquarie's 2GB in February 2002 which expires early next year.
He has maintained a relentless workload during the past two decades but last month he was caught napping at a Michael Buble concert at the Sydney Entertainment Centre.
He also declined to host a tribute to former prime minister John Howard in May due to illness.
Prostate cancer is Victoria's most common internal cancer in men, with nearly 4000 diagnosed each year.
TV comic and football legend Sam Newman recently fought the disease.
High-profile survivors of prostate cancer include Demon star Robbie Flower, playwright Alan Hopgood, Treasurer Wayne Swan and billionaire Richard Pratt
In 1995, legendary Bulldog Ted Whitten died at the age of 62 from the disease.
The EJ Whitten Foundation, which held its annual charity football match on Tuesday night, has launched a bold prostate awareness campaign, putting up posters in public toilets urging men to have a blood test for the cancer.
Men with a family history of prostate cancer are urged to see a doctor for a test from the age of 40.
All men over 50 should at least have a blood test, if not a digital rectal examination, health authorities say.
