Beppe Fenech Adami should be out of the London hospital in a week. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Nationalist Party deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami yesterday had a major four-and-a-half-hour operation to remove a 15cm malignant tumour from his back.

Surgeons at the London hospital, where he underwent the procedure, told relatives they were “satisfied” with the outcome.

Speaking to Times of Malta, soon after the operation was completed, Dr Fenech Adami’s sister, Maria Cassar, said doctors informed the family that, if all went well, he should be out of hospital in about a week.

Dr Fenech Adami, the 45-year-old son of President Emeritus and former prime minister Eddie Fenech Adami, was diagnosed with the tumour in July and has since undergone intensive radiotherapy treatment.

In an interview with this newspaper, given a few days after his diagnosis, he said he was mentally prepared to “bite the bullet” and have the tumour on his right shoulder blade removed.

He had experienced some muscle pain in his back some four months before his diagnosis. But being used to back trouble, since suffering a slipped disc in 1991 that required specialised surgery, he just put up with it.

When the treatment he was taking failed to alleviate the pain, he underwent an MRI scan to establish if the problem was emanating from his neck.

On July 18 at about 5pm, he was preparing to go to the Joseph Calleja concert at the Floriana Granaries when he received a phone call from the hospital telling him to go for a second MRI.

That was when he sensed something was wrong. The next day a biopsy revealed the tumour was cancerous.

Since then Dr Fenech Adami has spoken openly about his treatment process and has often thanked the public for their prayers and support.

In his first public appearance during the Independence Day celebrations, he pledged to dedicate all his energy to his party and his country after winning his battle with cancer.

“I will go away for treatment, but I hope to get better and get stronger,” he said.