Every patient that gets the all-clear from the cancer wing of the Prince of Wales hospital rings a golden bell. On Friday, Tommy Raudonikis, rugby league legend, maverick and former smoker of 100 cigarettes per day, rang that bell.

Five weeks ago Raudonikis entered the cancer wing to treat the vocal cord cancer that had invaded his throat, 15 years after he had given up smoking.

Survivor: Tommy Raudonikis rings the bell of the Nelune cancer centre at the Prince of Wales hospital. Credit:Dallas Kilponen

"I've always had a bit of a rough voice," said Raudonikis with a rasp every Wests fan would recognise from the sidelines of Campbelltown Stadium. "I was a guest speaker up in Cairns and even I thought I was a bit huskier than usual, the next day I could hardly talk."