Nationalist deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami revealed his right shoulder blade had been removed with a 15cm tumour. Photo: Paul Spiteri Luca

Beppe Fenech Adami is learning to do everything with his left hand after his right shoulder blade was “literally sawn off” and removed together with a 15cm tumour, but this is not his major concern.

“My biggest worry is ensuring the cancer has been contained.

“It remains the nightmare of whoever is, or has already been, in my situation,” the 45-year-old told The Sunday Times of Malta from his hotel room in London.

The Nationalist Party deputy leader, who returns to Malta tomorrow, underwent a major operation last Monday to remove a malignant tumour as big as a “ftira” that was running “like a creeper” through his ribs.

The four-and-a-half hour operation, which followed a five-week radiotherapy programme to treat and consolidate the tumour, was a success but it meant sacrificing mobility in his right arm.

“The cancer was in a rather tricky place and the doctors decided that the best way to go in for the tumour was by removing my shoulder blade... now I don’t have a shoulder blade and I don’t have the tumour,” he said, matter-of-factly.

“You give your surgeon licence to do whatever is necessary to remove the tumour. I was forewarned this could include the removal of bone or muscles.

With physiotherapy I’m told I can expect to regain 50 per cent of the mobility I had in my right arm

“The surgeons felt the cleanest way of removing the whole tumour was by removing one of my shoulder blades – sawn off, literally.”

The doctors detached his muscles and attached them elsewhere and as a consequence his right arm has been immobilised. It will remain in a sling for six weeks after which he will start physiotherapy.

“I’m told I can expect to regain 50 per cent of the mobility I had... I have to rebuild it over the next months, if not years,” he added.

Being right-handed has posed a challenge and he laughs at how the most basic of tasks, such as putting on a shirt or holding the phone, has become a milestone.

“I’m highly dependent on others for the most basic matters. But anyway, I’ll cope with that and learn to live with it. It’s simply the physical side-effect of the operation,” he said.

Like every patient, the most common fear after treatment is whether the cancer will recur.

In Dr Fenech Adami’s case two centimetres of healthy tissue was removed from the periphery of the tumour and has been sent for testing.

In a few weeks he should have the results on whether the cancer has been contained or has spread into the surrounding tissue.

“This is not a matter of ‘will it be gone?’ This is something I have to live with for at least five years. No surgeon will tell you you’re cured until at least five years have passed. It’s a matter of having things under control,” he added.

The son of President Emeritus and former prime minister Eddie Fenech Adami discovered he had a tumour last July when he was called in for a second urgent MRI scan on a Friday night, just as he was preparing to go to a concert.

He had experienced some muscle pain in his back some four months previously, but being used to back trouble since suffering a slipped disc in 1991, he just put up with it until the pain got worse.

The first weeks were characterised by shock as he tried to come to terms with the news, but he has since concentrated on trying to remain serene and in control; a psychological battle he fights every single day.

“The easiest thing is to lose control. At least I hope I managed not to slip into desperation,” he said.

“The lesson is to live day by day and leave yourself go in the hands of those who know how to deal with things best.”

Looking ahead guides his focus. His biggest priority remains his determination to return to normality – regaining a normal family life, returning to his profession and getting back into his political role, something he hopes to achieve “in the coming weeks”.

What has helped him remain strong?

“I must admit if it weren’t for my wife, Anne, I’d have crumbled... you’re so helpless and in such a vulnerable situation; she was the closest person to me throughout,” he said, adding that the public sentiment and messages of support had been very encouraging.

“I’ll survive,” the MP said, refusing to yield to self-pity.