Aussie reality star Rod Manning reveals stage 4 cancer diagnosis: 'Knocks you around a fair bit'

Australian opal miner and reality star Rod Manning has revealed a devastating stage 4 cancer diagnosis.

The Outback Opal Hunters star shared an emotional video to Instagram confirming his diagnosis, telling fans he's currently undergoing treatment.

"The post we didn't want to write, but given you're all family we wanted to keep you updated," Manning wrote alongside the clip.

Watch Outback Opal Hunters for free on Channel 9 and 9Now.

In the video, he explained why his business, The Bushmen Outback Opals, had not had many gemstones to sell lately.

"Amanda, my wife, she had a knee replacement and a hip replacement, and while all that was going on, I got diagnosed with cancer," Manning said.

"So I got stage 4 bowel cancer, and it's in the lymph nodes. So I've not been able to do a lot of mining."

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Manning kept his sense of humour, saying he was relieved he had been undergoing a form of chemotherapy that did not make his facial hair fall out.

"The chemo and the radiation hasn't been much fun. It knocks you around a fair bit," he said.

"There's a lot of people out there that go through it. It is tough, it's a hard thing."

He said that after chemo and radiation, there was "a pretty big operation" to come.

"Hopefully that operation goes all right and they can get it all, but only time will tell," he said.

Manning said he was keeping positive despite the prognosis.

"The odds they give me aren't that fantastic, but I've beaten better odds than that before, so I'm not real worried about it. I'm going to be around for a fair while," he said.

"It's just another battle you've got to fight and that's how you've got to look at it. I've been in a lot of blues in my life and this is just one more."

He concluded with a big thank you to fans.

"Youse have been very supportive throughout the years and a lot of youse are good mates, so thanks very much, and I'll be seeing you soon."

Manning has appeared on the Discovery Channel series Outback Opal Hunters since 2019.

The global hit, which airs in more than 100 countries, follows the high-risk, high-reward work of opal miners across Australia, as they work in some of the country's most remote locations in pursuit of the gemstones.

Watch Outback Opal Hunters for free on Channel 9 and 9Now.

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