Collingwood legend Peter Daicos has revealed he is in remission after overcoming a secret cancer diagnosis dating back to 2022.

In his new memoir My Family’s Journey, coming out next week, the Macedonian Marvel — and father of current Magpies stars Nick and Josh Daicos — details how he had to pull over to the side of the road while driving when he received the news.

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Speaking to 7NEWS, Daicos said it came as a complete shock at the time, but that he’s out the other side of it now.

“I was going in for other tests and other reasons because I hadn’t been feeling well for a little while there, I was a bit up and down,” he said.

“It was a time that was not a good time, but that’s something that happened four years ago. I’m in a different position now and I’m really comfortable with things.”

The 64-year-old Australian Football Hall of Famer said it was very deliberately kept a secret, but admitted concealing it did make the process harder in some ways.

“It didn’t come out because we wanted to keep it private and, to be quite honest, for want of a better term, we didn’t want it to become a circus, and I didn’t want the kids to live with it every day. My father wasn’t well at the time as well,” Daicos said.

“I think the hardest part is I wasn’t able to talk to people or share it with people, and I did want to talk. I even found at times I couldn’t talk to Col (wife Colleen) because I didn’t want to upset her. We were all trying to live as normal — and it was a very normal life.

“In the end, you are very protective. It’s more what it does to family members; I know I didn’t tell my mum or dad.

“There’s no special way you go about it, I mean, we’re all a little bit different in how we handle it. I’d think about it at times, but it didn’t consume me, which was good because I wasn’t reminded every day about it in my everyday life.

“I didn’t tell even a lot of close friends, and this is part of the thing that was hard. I couldn’t say anything. I think that was the hardest part, not being able to talk about it.

“That’s why I feel that it’s like a weight; even when I’m getting my checkups now, which is every six months, I feel like I’m hiding, I’m in disguise. And I’m anxious as it is — I don’t want to be more worried about people seeing me.

“We all handle it differently, and that was my way of getting through it.”

Asked if he ever thought the cancer would beat him, Daicos said: “Not really. I think it crosses your mind, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t worry about it, but it’s something I wasn’t very outward with.

“As a footballer, I’ve had a lot of injuries where you couldn’t move a shoulder, broken or busted ribs, teeth knocked out. I can go on: a couple of broken noses, hands done, ankle reconstruction.

“And while you’re going through it, it’s painful — but you always come out the other end. You have your surgery, you have your recuperation, you come out. And I was one of the fortunate ones where my cancer was operable and I was able to do that.

“In the end, I never, ever thought it was going anywhere other than I was going to be OK, a that probably a little bit comes from the football background having had the injuries.

“There was a time where I missed three years of football, only played 20-odd games, and ended up on a retired list, but came back in ‘88, so you can come out of it.

“Peter Mac is fabulous, and I felt I’d come away without really acknowledging them publicly, so I really wanted to, now that I’m in a great position, acknowledge the great work and everything they were able to do for me.

“I was told had I have been treated a few years earlier, I might not have not got through it, especially with the way radiation is treated these days.”

Daicos is now cancer-free, but his surgeon has taught him that cancer patients are almost never completely out of the woods, so he has to remain diligent.

“Hayden Snow was just amazing — he did save my life,” he said.

“When he told me I was in remission, I said, ‘Great, does that mean I’m right?’, and he goes, ‘No, you’re a cancer patient, unfortunately’.

“You go in for your regular checkups, and that’s why I implore to people, go and get it done.

“I wasn’t feeling the best and I could have easily said, ‘Yeah, I feel great, maybe I’m just getting on a little bit’.

“You hear the message all the time: go and get checked out. Even if you feel great, go and get your regular checkups.

“It’s an understatement to say I was taken by surprise, but yeah, it was a bit of a knock in the chin.”