James Valentine reveals the terrifying moment his wife knew something was terribly wrong with the ABC radio star before his shock cancer diagnosis – and the top nine symptoms to look out for

James Valentine was at a friend’s birthday party last December when the first signs that something was seriously wrong with the ABC radio star suddenly appeared.

“My friend Tom has been celebrating his 40th birthday every few years for a while now and it’s a good party,” Valentine remembers.

“But as usual the bar was free and there was no food.”

Help arrived with three takeaway containers of Thai food delivered to the pub’s party venue about 9.30pm and Valentine gobbled down the massaman beef ‘like a dog blowing up Pal’.

What happened next led the 62-year-old to a doctor’s surgery and a diagnosis of esophageal cancer.

A few minutes after eating the takeout, Valentine began choking and gagging. His wife Joanne said: ‘That’s not right.’

As Valentine clung to a pole in the street outside the hotel, Joanne insisted he visit her sister’s endoscopy clinic for a gastroscopy.

After the procedure, a gastroenterologist confirmed that Valentine was not suffering from some kind of “old man’s reflux disease.”

“It’s bad,” the doctor said.

‘You have a 4 cm tumor where your esophagus meets your stomach.’

The ABC Radio Sydney afternoon show host’s life changed in an instant.

Valentine revealed details about his cancer diagnosis on Thursday in a first-person piece written for the national broadcaster’s website.

At the beginning of that article, addressed directly to his listeners, the former saxophonist for Melbourne band Models said, “I’m doing absolutely fine right now.”

In January, Valentine began five weeks of chemotherapy and radiation. He will soon undergo surgery to remove his esophagus.

Valentine revealed details about his cancer diagnosis on Thursday in a first-person piece written for the national broadcaster’s website. He is pictured with actor Leah McLeod

“I was immediately given chemo and radiation, but only a mild dose intended to shrink the tumor and clean out the body before surgery,” he wrote.

‘I got tired from the radiation, the chemo made me feel like my whole body was laced with liquid aluminum foil, but I was able to go to work, turn on the radio and even do a few gigs with the saxophone.’

The operation to remove Valentine’s cancerous esophagus will be carried out in a few weeks, during which his stomach will be stretched and attached to his throat to replace the digestive organ.

“I’ll probably feel like crap for a long time afterward,” he wrote. ‘It is likely that I will recover, although that may take several months.

“I will never eat massaman beef again and I think we’ll all be happy about that.”

An ABC spokesperson said there had been an outpouring of care and concern for Valentine since Thursday, with listeners offering messages of support.

Valentine presented the ABC’s Sydney afternoon program for 20 years before holding down breakfast for two years until late 2023, when it was announced he would return to his old shift.

There was an indication that Valentine was unwell on his Facebook page in February when a fan posted: ‘Please stop with mondayitis, we’d love to hear from you 5 days a week on (Radio Sydney).’

ABC management had known about Valentine’s diagnosis since December, but the announcer decided not to tell his listeners until this week.

“I thought about telling the ABC Radio Sydney audience earlier but decided I would just come back to the afternoons,” he wrote.

“It’s a cheerful show overall, so let’s enjoy ourselves there for a few months instead of being in the shadow of my illness all the time.”

Valentine said he expected to be off the air for two or three months, he wrote in his piece.

“I’m going to make sure I’m fully recovered and my stomach stays attached to my neck before I try to broadcast again.”