Australian actor Ian Smith, who is best known for his role as Harold Bishop on the soap opera Neighbours, announced he has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.
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While speaking to 10 News First, the 86-year-old stated he recently found out he has pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma, which is a rare form of lung cancer.
“I found out a few months back that I have cancer,” Ian Smith explained. “That I have a very aggressive, non-fixable cancer, and they expect me to die.”
Since being diagnosed, Smith said he has undergone three rounds of chemotherapy. He’s also gone through a relatively new treatment called immunotherapy.
“I’ve really put my hand up to be a guinea pig,” Ian Smith said while talking about his cancer treatments. “Plus the fact I don’t want to die, and I want to stay alive with quality as long as I can. And if they can do that, I’m very happy.”
Smith pointed out that pain is a key indicator of how his treatment progress is going. “I wake up every morning hoping there’s no pain because I know that’s the beginning of the bad part,” he noted.
Ian Smith Discusses His Wife’s Battle With Cancer and How It Impacted Him
Elsewhere in the interview, Ian Smith reflected on the loss of his wife Gail. She died from cancer in 2019. The actor admitted he lost a part of himself following her death.
“That, really, I think if that hadn’t happened, I’d be a lot worse off now,” Smith revealed. “But my life finished then.”
Smith then said, “We’re all dying. But when you find out specifically when you’re going to die, you become a very different person. I’ve seen so many deaths. I’ve seen some good ones, and I’ve seen bad ones. I’m hoping I’ll go the nice way.”
Although Neighbours previously announced he was coming back as a regular in the soap opera earlier this year, Ian Smith revealed he made the tough decision to retire from acting shortly after his cancer diagnosis.
“It isn’t just my last day on Neighbours, it’s my last day of work,” he told his Neighbours castmates. “I’ve had the most privileged life …. we didn’t just make a soap, we made the best bloody soap there was to make. I have met the most beautiful people.”
Smith has starred as Harold Bishop on Neighbours since 1987.
The show announced Smith’s departure over the weekend. “Harold waves goodbye to Ramsay Street,” the producers wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “We’re sharing the sad news that Ian Smith will soon be stepping away from the beloved role of Harold Bishop. Ian first played Harold in 1987, and it’s been a huge privilege to welcome him back to the show over the years.”