Clive Rice has hailed the successful radiation treatment he underwent for a brain tumour in India as a ‘miracle’.
A tumour was detected in Rice’s brain after he collapsed at home. Doctors told him they couldn’t operate on the cancerous growth due to its location in the brain.
‘It was a helluva unsatisfactory position to be in,’ Rice told EWN in a video interview.
The back-up plan was to go to India, where a hospital in Bangalore would use a ‘CyberKnife’ operation to remove the cancer cells from the tumour.
‘With the laser accuracy they can get the cancer out,’ said Rice. ‘So me and my wife Susan got our visas and went to India. They were brilliant.
‘We arrived early on a Sunday, and I received one-hour treatments the following Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
‘I was tied down to a table, while the CyberKnife machine was floating around and specifically targeting that cancer cell in my brain and radiating it to take out the cancer.’
Rice has to go back in three months for a post-operation scan to see if the tumour is out of his brain and whether there is anything else that has to be treated.
‘I was basically going to die, which is what we’re all going to do, but I’m not in a hurry to die. Then to be able to undergo this treatment; you can’t believe how professional they were.
‘I’m very happy with what happened. In fact, it’s a miracle,’ said Rice.
He also said he was concerned about the Proteas at the World Cup as prepare to face Sri Lanka in Wednesday’s quarter-final.
‘I think we’ve got technical coaches there. We need a strategy coach to see what’s going on,’ said Rice.
‘We’ve got some fantastic batsmen. AB, together with Kumar Sangakkara and Steven Smith is the best in the world. It’s like batting with Graeme Pollock. You just knew you had the best in the world, but have the right strategy and you will win the game.’
Rice had some advice for Quinton de Kock, who is under a lot of pressure to score runs.
‘I’m not so sure that I’ll open with Quinton. I will bat him at seven and tell him: Don’t play T20 shots, play proper cricket shots. Give the strike to whoever you are batting with and play yourself in first.’
