Melbourne criminal Mark ''Chopper'' Read has been given just weeks to live after being diagnosed with liver cancer, according to reports.

The crook-turned-author and artist used Twitter yesterday to break the news about his failing health, telling his 3428 followers: ''Looks like the big C has finally bitten. Let's see how we go …''

Mark 'Chopper' Read has been diagnosed with cancer. Credit:Jon Reid

He later said he had four tumours on his liver and had been given just six weeks to live but was not afraid of dying.

"I've got liver cancer. They say there's no way out of it," the Herald Sun quoted him as saying.