Neighbours legend Ian Smith has said he’s having the ‘easiest ride’ amid his terminal cancer diagnosis – after he was ‘supposed to die in March’.
The 86-year-old actor, known for his role as Harold Bishop on the Australian show, revealed in December that he was leaving the soap after being diagnosed with a “very aggressive non-fixable cancer”, but he has responded well to treatment and has “never felt better”.
Speaking on Australia’s The Morning Show, Ian shared: “I have got cancer. I know that because doctors tell me I have. But apart from that… No pain. I was supposed to die in March. I am having the easiest ride, seriously!
“I’ve possibly never felt better. Everyone looks at me and says, ‘Look at your hair!'”
Despite people’s astonishment at his curly locks, especially after he had lost all his hair due to cancer treatments, Ian’s hair made a comeback following immunotherapy, which enables the immune system to recognise and combat cancer cells.
He said: “They are all jealous I’ve got so much hair.”
Detailing his journey, he recounted: “I went through the treatment, started to lose my hair and went totally bald.
“I then went onto the immunotherapy and got a head full of hair… not just hair, but curly hair!”
Previously in December, on Australia’s Channel 10, Ian admitted: “I found out a few months back that I have cancer. That I have a very aggressive non-fixable cancer and they expect me to… they expect me to die…
“I want to stay alive with quality as long as I can. If they can do that, I’m very happy. But I wake up every morning hoping there’s no pain because I know that’s the beginning of the bad part.”
In January, Ian received some positive news amid his cancer battle, after he was thrilled to be told his tumour had shrunk “significantly” and things were more optimistic than he first feared.
He shared with TV Week at the time: “I did a PET scan and the words, I believe, were ‘significant metabolic change, significant shrinkage of tumour’.
“I’ve gone from a threat of dying this coming March to maybe a few more months… and now, who knows?
“It’s not a cure and it won’t be a cure, but I certainly have got a year, maybe two. That’s amazing. It really is.”
