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  By a Newsnet reporter

Scottish novelist Iain Banks, author of The Wasp Factory, The Crow Road, and the science fiction series Culture, has revealed he is suffering from advanced cancer of the gall bladder and has just months to live.  

The writer says he is weighing up the pros and cons of chemotherapy, however his prognosis is not good.

Noted for his dark humour, the Dunfermline born writer was hailed as one of the 50 best British writers since 1945 in a list compiled by the Times newspaper in 2008.  

His latest work, a novel titled The Quarry, is due to be published in the coming months.  His publishers Little, Brown are working to bring forward the publication date of “The Quarry” to give him a better chance of seeing it on the shelves before he dies.

Mr Banks says the novel will be his last, and he has withdrawn from all public engagements in order to spend his remaining months with his family and friends.

Mr Banks said that he went to his GP with back pain and jaundice, and medical tests discovered that a tumour had spread from his gall bladder to both lobes of his liver, possibly his pancreas and some lymph nodes ruling out “any chance of surgery to remove the tumours either in the short or long term”.

In a personal statement published on his website, he writes:

“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.

“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. Meanwhile my heroic publishers are doing all they can to bring the publication date of my new novel forward by as much as four months, to give me a better chance of being around when it hits the shelves.

“There is a possibility that it might be worth undergoing a course of chemotherapy to extend the amount of time available. However that is still something we’re balancing the pros and cons of, and anyway it is out of the question until my jaundice has further and significantly, reduced.

“Lastly, 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. We’re all just sorry the outcome hasn’t been more cheerful.

“A website is being set up where friends, family and fans can leave messages for me and check on my progress. It should be up and running during this week and a link to it will be here on my official website as soon as it’s ready.”

In a statement, First Minister Alex Salmond said:

“This is terribly sad news. Iain Banks is a remarkable writer who has made a lasting contribution to Scottish literature and culture, inspiring and enthralling readers for 30 years.

“My thoughts are very much with Iain, his wife and family and his friends at this very difficult time.”

Comments  

 
#
Independista
2013-04-03 15:34

Very sad news indeed. He will be a great loss to Scotland and to literature.
 
 
#
X_Sticks
2013-04-03 16:38

I will miss both Iain Banks and Iain M. Banks books very much. They have given me a great deal of pleasure over the years since the fabulous Wasp Factory.

I sincerely hope that Iain can live life to the full for whatever time he has left.
 
 
#
Nebulosity
2013-04-03 16:47

Such a fantastic and inspiring writer (and human being). So very sad to hear this. Thank you so much Iain, and best wishes and thoughts at this time for you and your loved ones.
 
 
#
Robabody
2013-04-03 17:34

Thank you Iain for the very many hours of action and intrigue I’ve enjoyed when exploring the fantastic worlds of the “Culture” and your other related SciFi books. The Algebraist for example is a grand story and a fine legacy for how it should be done.

Thank you again and kindest regards……
 
 
#
clootie
2013-04-03 17:38

Good wishes and thank you for the stories
 
 
#
Displaced Patriot
2013-04-03 18:06

sad ,sad ,sad ,a wonderful writer and a decent man.
 
 
#
ButeHouse
2013-04-03 19:03

Tragic news for anyone but especially for someone as talented as Iain Banks.

Take the chemo Iain, try and stay in the game as long as possible, we never know what breakthroughs are around the corner.

Best wishes.
 
 
#
fynesider
2013-04-03 19:06

Good wishes and thanks for all the stories.

Take care of the family for as long as you are able to….
 
 
#
Clydebuilt
2013-04-03 23:04

Very sad news. Read all your science books
absolute genuis. Hope Iain’s backed up.
 
 
#
Galen10
2013-04-04 14:19

This really is gut-wrenchingly sad news; one of my all time favourite authors both for his SF and mainstream fiction.

I think a fitting tribute might be to begin a campaign to have the new Forth crossing named in his memory?
 

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