Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year, he has revealed in recent days.
The 70-year-old - who became a father once again to twins last year - revealed that the cancer was discovered three months ago during a routine medical check ahead of the Stones' latest tour.
He told the Mail on Sunday: "I've had a fight with a touch of lung cancer. There was a week when everything hung in the balance and it could have been curtains – time to say goodbye. You never know what is going to happen."
He revealed that he had given up smoking last year, but said the decision had spurred him on to go for a medical check: "‘I had this thought at the back of my mind after I gave up smoking a year ago: “How can I have got through 50 years of chain-smoking – and all the rest of my bad habits – without something going on in there?”
He said that once the tumour was discovered on his left lung, he endured a week of tests to find out whether it had spread to his lymph nodes - and that he had decided not to go for chemotherapy if it had.
"No. It’s more I wasn’t going to lose my hair. This hair wasn’t going anywhere. I said, “No way", he said. '"And I just kept the faith it would be all right. A week later they came back with the news that it hadn’t spread and I said, “Let’s get it out now.”
Wood revealed that he has recovered since the operation, but will need to go for check-ups every three months.