Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns said on Saturday that he has been diagnosed with bowel cancer, five months after suffering a spinal stroke following emergency heart surgery.

The 51-year-old had undergone life-saving treatment for a torn artery and suffered a spinal stroke in late August that left him paralysed from the waist down.

Cairns was discharged last week after 141 days of inpatient treatment at the University of Canberra Hospital and was told about his latest health setback on Friday following a routine check.

“I was told yesterday I have bowel cancer... big shock and not what I was expecting after what was supposed to be a routine check-up,” Cairns wrote on Instagram.