THUNDER BAY -- Radio personality Stuart McLean will cut his Christmas tour short due to a melanoma diagnosis and his last show before he begins treatment will be Sunday in Thunder Bay.
The voice behind CBC's Vinyl Cafe made the announcement on his facebook page Saturday morning.
"This is not quite as ominous as it sounds (or not as ominous and it sounded to me)," he wrote.
"Melanoma, which was once a deadly diagnosis, has, over the last couple of years, become eminently treatable. The treatment is, as my wonderful doctor describes it, the poster child of cancer therapy."
McLean will undergo immunotherapy, which his doctor says gives him an 85 per cent probability of having a positive outcome.
McLean said he considered undergoing therapy and returning to the tour for its Christmas dates but didn't want to perform if he couldn't be at his best.
He even apologized to fans, saying "it feels like I invited everyone to dinner and am calling to say the party's off. I don't know what to say except, I am sorry."
His letter ended asking his fans not to worry.
"I am otherwise healthy and, as I said, the likelihood of this being a bump in the road rather than the end of the road is by far the most expected outcome. There are many, many people who are much sicker than I am, who both need and deserve your concern."
The Vinyl Cafe is a Canadiana radio comedy broadcast in storytelling format that was founded in 1994. Performed live for radio and reproduced in books and audio sales, McLean tells the stories of a second hand record store owner named Dave, his wife Morley, their children, friends and neighbours.
