I was shocked to read this. He was at the height of his career when I started as a junior and I remember reading all I could about "the professor." It was so sad to see him get beat by Lemond by only a few seconds in the 1989 Tour. Still the closest tour finish ever and he never seemed to fully recover from that afterwards.
Although he is being up beat about it, his condition doesn't sound good.
"My cancer is an advanced cancer, and since it has already spread, it is almost certainly involving the pancreas. Therefore I do not know how long I have to live. One cannot say what will happen, but I am optimistic. I'm going to fight, and I will succeed in winning this fight."
He was a pompus French prick at the pinnacle of his career and the last great French grand tour rider. That being said, this is quite tragic and I hope he is able to overcome this.