Fife author Iain Banks has revealed he is suffering from cancer and expects to die within the next year.
The 59-year-old, famous for novels including The Wasp Factory, The Crow Road and Complicity as well as his science-fiction Culture series, made the announcement on his official website. It repeatedly crashed throughout the day due to the volume of people attempting to visit it.
Written with the same black humour that has characterised many of his novels, his message read: “I am officially Very Poorly.
“After a couple of surgical procedures, I am gradually recovering from jaundice caused by a blocked bile duct, but that – it turns out – is the least of my problems.
“I first thought something might be wrong when I developed a sore back in late January, but put this down to the fact I’d started writing at the beginning of the month and so was crouched over a keyboard all day. When it hadn’t gone away by mid-February, I went to my GP, who spotted that I had jaundice. Blood tests, an ultrasound scan and then a CT scan revealed the full extent of the grisly truth by the start of March.
“I have cancer. It started in my gall bladder, has infected both lobes of my liver and probably also my pancreas and some lymph nodes, plus one tumour is massed around a group of major blood vessels in the same volume, effectively ruling out any chance of surgery to remove the tumours either in the short or long term.
“The bottom line, now, I’m afraid, is that as a late stage gall bladder cancer patient, I’m expected to live for ‘several months’ and it’s extremely unlikely I’ll live beyond a year. So it looks like my latest novel, The Quarry, will be my last.”
The author, who was born in Dunfermline and lives in North Queensferry, added he has married his long-term partner Adele Hartley following his diagnois
He said: “As a result, I’ve withdrawn from all planned public engagements and I’ve asked my partner Adele if she will do me the honour of becoming my widow (sorry – but we find ghoulish humour helps).
“By the time this goes out we’ll be married and on a short honeymoon. We intend to spend however much quality time I have left seeing friends and relations and visiting places that have meant a lot to us.”
He said that although it may be possible to undergo a course of chemotherapy to give him longer to live, he is still weighing up whether to go ahead with the treatment once his jaundice has been reduced.
Finally, he paid tribute to NHS Scotland for the care he has received.
“I’d like to add that from my GP onwards, the professionalism of the medics involved – and the speed with which the resources of the NHS in Scotland have been deployed – has been exemplary, and the standard of care deeply impressive.”
Mr Banks studied English, philosophy and psychology at Stirling University and held down several jobs before becoming a novelist.
his first book, The Wasp Factory, was published in 1984 on is 30th birthday. He has since published 13 novels under the name Iain Banks and another 12 science fiction books under the name Iain M Banks.
His 15th novel, The Quarry, is due for publication soon.
The Crow Road was adapted for a successful television series starring Joseph McFadden, Dougray Scott and Peter Capaldi while Complicity was also filmed.
Anna Day, Director of Literary Dundee, said: “The tragic news that Iain Banks has posted on his website will be felt deeply throughout the country’s creative community.
“Iain visited Dundee several times and was always incredibly generous in sharing his talent with and and the world, both as a sci-fi writer and a literary novelist. I look very much to his new novel, Quarry, but am deeply sad that this will be the last from a true legend of Scottish writing.”
Fellow Fife author Ian Rankin described the news as “just awful” on his Twitter feed.