former Beatle, 54, told the "News of the World" that a lump on his neck was diagnosed as malignant last July. It was removed last August, and the operation was followed by two courses of radiation treatment in England. He was checked by the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota in January and again in May and was given a clean bill of health. Harrison maintained that he got it "purely from smoking." He had given up cigarettes years before but started again prior to quitting a second time last year. He says he discovered the growth last July while he was gardening at the 200-room mansion on an estate just west of London he shares with his wife Olivia and their 19-year old son Dhani.
"I was very lucky because it didn't go anywhere - all
it was was a little red mark on my neck," Harrison told the paper.
Harrison said the battle with cancer had made him think about how tenuous life could be. He compared it to "a raindrop on a lotus leaf."
When asked what influence his ordeal might have on the music currently he's currently writing for a new album, he joked: "Maybe I'll record a track called Radiation Therapy."
