Newspaper columnist Peter Rhodes has revealed he has terminal cancer in an open letter to readers of Wolverhampton’s Express & Star.
Mr Rhodes revealed he had been diagnosed with kidney cancer and had multiple blood clots in his lungs, saying doctors said his condition was terminal.
He said his condition was discovered after he was tested for prostate cancer in August.
The author thanked his thousands of readers and said he was supported by “the best team of medical staff and nursing staff anyone could wish to have”.
“My goal now is to finish the year and I fully expect to celebrate Christmas,” he wrote.
The newspaper said that in a career that spanned four decades, Rhodes reported stories around the world, including the Falkland Islands, Hong Kong in the last days of British rule, South Africa as apartheid began to unravel, and even almost to the North Pole.
Mr Rhodes retired as chief features writer in 2012 but continued to write weekday columns for the Express & Star and the Shropshire Star until October this year.
Editor Mark Drew said Mr. Rhodes was “undoubtedly the best wordsmith” and always had a “special and very direct relationship” with readers.
He said Mr Lord wanted to choose the right moment to tell people about his illness and described the open letter as “as erudite as ever”.
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