Toon Legend Wins Battle!

"There will be an on-going programme to keep a check on me.

"I have always said that when I was given the all-clear I wanted people to know. For someone like me you can never really say all-clear, but the cancer's gone.

"I had a tremendous reaction from well-wishers after I was diagnosed and I want people to know the news.

"I consider myself very lucky. The treatment was not pleasant but there are a lot of people who are worse off.

"The chemotherapy made me very nauseous but it didn't stop me. I didn't miss a day of work and I didn't lose my hair.

"When I was diagnosed I was totally staggered. It was a shock and a terrible news. Cancer was a disease that happened to other people.

"I was told I had a tumour and it was cancerous. It was life-threatening and it had to be taken out.

"I had a colonoscopy immediately after that and my wife Camille was there.

"She was absolutely fantastic and kept asking the right questions. I can't talk too highly about the staff and the surgeon who helped me, they were great.

"When I was on holiday I was not feeling clever but I was being a typical man thinking I would be alright.

"I came back two days later and was reading a newspaper article about a guy who has colon cancer and he was describing what happened to him.

"I was thinking 'I have got something like that' but I was making excuses to myself.

"The guy said the reason he went to the doctor was because he had met Bobby Moore's wife Stephanie at a charity function and she said if Bobby had gone to the doctor when he should have done, he would still be alive.

"When I read that I felt Bobby Moore was telling me to do something about it. Within a month I was operated on.

"You do have dark moments and think 'what if?'. I was furious that it should happen to me. I was angry because I was really enjoying life.

"I remember people saying to me that if I was a player today I would be a millionaire, but I told them I felt like a millionaire, not in terms of cash, but I was doing commentary for Century FM and getting paid to watch Newcastle United. I was really enjoying myself.

"I remember saying 'you never know when something is going to happen'. Then that's just what happened."