ABC Sydney radio presenter James Valentine has been diagnosed with oesophageal cancer and will be taking a few months off-air as he undergoes surgery.

The Afternoons host shared his diagnosis with listeners during his segment on Thursday.

“The prognosis is that it’ll be fixed, but it’s a pretty dramatic fix. I know many of you have had to deal with this yourself, or had to deal with it in your family. This is hard to listen to,” the 62-year-old said. “But I felt as though I wanted to spend some time and talk to you about it, and let you know what was occurring.”

He also wrote a candid story about his experience for the ABC’s news website. In it, Valentine explains his diagnosis and treatment so far, both with an equal level of humour and candour.

“In early January, I started five weeks of chemotherapy and radiation,” he wrote. “In a few weeks, I will undergo surgery, which is the main treatment for my oesophageal cancer. The surgery will remove my entire oesophagus and then stretch my stomach up and attach it to my throat.

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“After that, I’m very likely to feel like absolute crap for quite some time. It is likely I will recover, although that may take some months.”

Both on-air and in writing, Valentine speaks candidly about his condition, readily sharing details about his chemotherapy and radiation. He even invited Dr Anthony Joshua, a medical oncologist at St Vincent’s Hospitals Sydney, on to his show to explain in detail how cancer treatment works. Following this interview was a segment on men’s health more generally, with the aim of encouraging more men to open up about it without shame.

Valentine took over for Josh Szeps as Afternoons host this year, after the latter left to concentrate on his subscriber-based podcast business. This was a natural fit given Valentine had presented during the timeslot for 22 years before moving to Breakfast in early 2022.