But the much-loved local muso, who founded the Tin Shed Rattlers almost five decades ago, is typically easygoing about his fate.

“I’m 77, so it’s been a decent innings,” he said.

“If I could have scored a quarter of that in cricket, I would have been happy.”

It’s been three months since Mr Raynes was told his lungs were riddled with mesothelioma, a form of cancer associated with exposure to asbestos.

He hasn’t asked his doctor how long he’s got. He’d prefer not to know.

“I have very little pain and the chemo is working pretty well,” he said.

It was during one his bouts of chemo recently that he noticed a fundraising poster on the wall for the Riverina Cancer Care Centre.

“I just thought, we can do something like that,” Mr Raynes said.

“The centre is an amazing facility and it needs all the fundraising help it can get.”

In a matter of weeks, Mr Raynes had organised the Aussie Bush Dance, to be held this Saturday at the Uranquinty Hall.

A swag of businesses and community organisations have jumped on board the event, which will include traditional Irish-Australian music from the Tin Shed Rattlers, dancing, games and food.

Riverina Cancer Care Centre chief physicist Nick Menzies said fundraising events were the lifeblood of the centre.

“We want to provide the best treatment we can and there are so many costs involved,” Mr Menzies said.

“Events like Noel’s really emphasise the fact we rely on the community for our life.

“We are a private practice but if we operated under a user-pays model, people couldn’t afford to use us.”

The centre is currently fundraising for a $250,000 state-of-the-art radiotherapy skin machine, used to treat skin cancers.

Entry to Saturday night’s event is $12 for adults, $5 for children and $20 for families.

Doors open at 5pm, the barbecue starts at 5.30pm and music and dancing start at 6.30pm. For further enquiries, contact Noel or Vicki on 6928 5541,