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Wilko Johnson, Game of Thrones Star, Talks Terminal Cancer: I Feel “Vividly Alive”

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Wilko Johnson arrives at the Q Awards 2010 at Grosvenor House Hotel on October 25, 2010 in London, England.

Fans will be happy to know that Wilko Johnson is in very good spirits after doctors diagnosed him with terminal pancreatic cancer. The Games of Thrones actor and Dr. Feelgood bandmember shared the heartbreaking news on Jan. 10 on his Facebook page, and is now opening up about how he's doing now.

In an intimate interview with Radio 4's Front Row (via BBC), Johnson, 65, explained that he went to the doctor after feeling a lump in his stomach, which he initially ignored. When his doctors gave him the shocking diagnosis, he explained, it strangely energized him.

Related: PHOTOS: Stars who have battled cancer

"We walked out of there and I felt an elation of spirit. You're walking along and suddenly you're vividly alive. You're looking at the trees and the sky and everything and it's just 'whoah,'" Johnson said. "I am actually a miserable person. I've spent most of my life moping in depressions and things, but this has all lifted."

Johnson opted not to receive any chemotherapy after he learned such treatment could only prolong his life by two months. With about 9 or 10 months to live, according to his doctor, the star says he plans to live his life to the fullest until the end. The musician is scheduled to perform a farewell tour with shows beginning February in France.

Related: PHOTOS: Celebrity health scares

"If the cancer kicks in before that, then I can't go on stage. I'm not going to go on stage looking ill — I don't wanna present a sorry spectacle!" he said. "I'm not hoping for a miracle cure or anything. I just hope it spares me long enough to do these gigs — then I'll be a happy man."

Related: PHOTOS: British stars

The talented star says he still "bursts into tears" thinking about his late wife, Irene, who died of cancer eight years ago, but has managed to keep his spirits up when thinking about his own death.

"Right now it's just fantastic — it makes you feel alive," Still, he observed, "This position I'm in is so strange, in that I do feel fit and yet I know death is upon me."

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