Ian Smith has received some good news in his fight against terminal lung cancer.
Ian Smith has shared a hopeful update
The 'Neighbours' legend announced last month he had quit his role as Harold Bishop after being told he had just a few months to live, but after undergoing life-extending treatment, he was thrilled to be told his tumour has shrunk "significantly" and things are more optimistic than he first feared.
He told TV Week: "I did a PET scan and the words, I believe, were 'significant metabolic change, significant shrinkage of tumour'.
"I've gone from a threat of dying this coming March to maybe a few more months... and now, who knows?"
However, despite the "amazing" news, the 86-year-old actor was keen to stress he won't be cured of the disease.
He added: "It's not a cure and it won't be a cure, but I certainly have got a year, maybe two. That's amazing. It really is."
Ian - who made his Ramsay Street debut in 1987 - announced in December he had a "very aggressive" form of cancer.
He told Australia's Channel 10: "I found out a few months back that I have cancer. That I have a very aggressive non-fixable cancer and they expect me to ... they expect me to die ...
"I want to stay alive with quality as long as I can. If they can do that, I'm very happy. But I wake up every morning hoping there's no pain because I know that's the beginning of the bad part."
Ian said that he has had treatment, such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy, to prolong his life.
He added: "I’ve had three chemos although the first one wasn’t chemo it was immunotherapy, which is reasonably new, to the medical world.
"I’ve really put my hand up I think just to be a guinea pig, plus the fact I don’t want to die, I want to stay alive with quality as long as I can and if they can do that, I’m very happy."