On top of being an outstanding general practitioner for our Valley, he's been one of the main proponents in securing our new hospital.

He's still doing that. But he's also having to negotiate some very tough times in regard to his own health.

Just over a year ago Dr Ryan found a golf ball-sized lump under his arm.

On closer inspection he found similar, smaller lumps under the other arm and around his groin.

A biopsy revealed the worst.

Dr Ryan has Angioimmunoblastic T-cell Lymphoma; a rare form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma which is a group of cancers that affect the lymphatic system.

"It just so happens that the lymphoma I have is a difficult one to cure with chemotherapy," he said.

Regardless, he finished up treating patients mid-last year and started a round of chemo.

In the year since, scans have showed that the chemotherapy is holding the cancer at bay...but it's not going away.

Dr Ryan said the most viable treatment in his case is a bone marrow transplant.

Before the surgery, his stem cells would be harvested. Then a very large dose of chemotherapy would obliterate any remaining white blood cells in his body.

With a donor transplant of healthy bone marrow - where new white blood cells are made - the new cells are much more likely to recognise the cancer cells as a foreign body and start to attack, where Dr Ryan's have failed to.

There are over 28 million people registered world-wide to be bone marrow donors, which sounds like a lot, until you understand the conditions needed to find a match.

There should be a match of six basic Human Leukocyte Antigens (proteins) for a donor to be considered viable.

"HLA types are inherited so siblings can sometimes be a match for each other. Each of your brothers and sisters who has the same mum and dad as you has a one in four chance of being a complete match," the Be The Match organisation website reads.

But for Dr Ryan a sibling match is impossible.

"I was adopted, and as far as I'm aware I don't have any brothers or sisters," he said.

In fact, after his doctors searched the registry for a viable donor, there was only one complete match found in the entire world.

One match...out of 28 million.

"A complete match is statistically rare," he said.

"The more people on the registry, the more likely you'll find someone who's going to be a complete match.

"So that's why we encourage people to sign up to the bone marrow registry. Because one day you could save someone's life."

And gone are the days when you would have a frighteningly large needle inserted into your spinal column to extract bone marrow.

Nowadays, it's almost as simple as a blood donation...it just takes a few hours more.

If you are a healthy 18-45 year-old, you can sign up to the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry here.

This week Dr Ryan will learn if his donor match - his lifeline - will agree to make a donation.

But even if it's a yes, there is still only a 40 percent chance for long-term disease-free survival.

Forty percent of patients undergoing the treatment will have long-term complications.

And 20 percent will die during the process.

"So it's pretty daunting, but the alternative for someone like me is that eventually the disease becomes resistant to chemotherapy," he said.

For someone with a metaphorical guillotine perched above his neck, Dr Ryan is remarkably calm.

"I've learned to take it just one step at a time - cancer treatment is a marathon rather than a sprint," he said.

"And I'm uncomfortable with the terminology 'fighting your cancer'.

"I believe acceptance is the key. You want to spend the rest of your life living...in spite of it.

"Cancer just becomes your new reality, and it's better to accept it because life's still good.

"Even though you don't feel well a lot of the time, it's important to keep on doing the things in your life you love, and with the people you love.

"Having said that I'm only 60, so it would be nice to live a few more years. Given the opportunity, I'd love to do more."

If it's a yes from mystery overseas donor, Dr Ryan will be booked in for surgery at Royal Brisbane for October. After surgery he will be in hospital for two months to see if the bone marrow accepts his body as a host.

And then it'll be another four months before he's allowed to return to the Valley.

As a man who has impacted so many lives in the Nambucca Valley, there's sure to be a ton of good will and well wishes for his recovery.

But for Dr Ryan, the best thing you could do is to sign up to become a bone marrow donor.

By doing so, you'll not be saving his life, but possibly someone else's in his honour.

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