For decades Geoffrey Hooper has been seeing off threats to keep one of Sydney's last DVD stores open.

When he started out renting home videos, industry pundits thought Foxtel would kill his business. As the store switched to DVDs, they said piracy, iTunes then Netflix would finish it.

Geoffrey Hooper in his Video Ezy store in Mount Druitt. Credit:James Brickwood

But what has finally killed off the Video Ezy store at Mount Druitt - a small landmark in western Sydney that has been attracting movie renters and collectors from around the city as more than 200 other DVD stores have closed - was something more personal.

To the dismay of his long-time customers, Mr Hooper has been diagnosed with cancer.