James Valentine back on air after cancer diagnosis

In his first broadcast since returning, Valentine spent an hour discussing “how to make big medical decisions” with Bourke, his ABC colleague Dr Norman Swan and Australian of the Year Professor Richard Scolyer, who is currently undergoing treatment for a brain tumour.

Bourke said when he heard of Valentine's diagnosis, he wondered if it was an early stage cancer that could be treated endoscopically. When he investigated, he found it was.

Valentine said he had three days to decide whether to change treatment.

“I call my surgeon and can hear his concern. 'You're too far advanced, it's too risky, we need to remove the entire esophagus to make sure we remove all the cancer,'” Valentine wrote in an article for ABC News.

He said he then had to choose between two people who were both convinced that they were right.

“In the end, I decided to go with my gut,” he said. “I would rather do something less invasive. I can handle the risk of future cancer. I prefer that risk to the risk of morbidity.”

In an interview with this Masthead after leaving the show, Valentine said it was “just bizarre” how quickly he went from thinking he could enjoy life normally for a few more months to being offered another operation.

“It's not like I've found a miracle cure,” he said. “I've just swapped out the risk.”

“The risk with a total esophagectomy is that recovery takes a very long time, if at all. The risk is that you will recover – you will be fine – but we need to keep a watchful eye for future cancer.

“So I could go for a test in six months and they'd say, 'Oh shit, sorry buddy, it's come back again.'”

Valentine said that as he faced the far more serious surgery, he realized he would rather return to radio than retire.

“I didn't want to buy a yacht and sail around the Greek islands, and I didn't necessarily need to walk the Camino,” he said. “I just wanted to get back to the show.”

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