The Who's singer Roger Daltrey has praised cancer-stricken Jade Goody for raising the profile of the disease.

Daltrey said the 27-year-old former Big Brother star, who has been given months to live, had shown great “courage” in her cancer battle.

He also said Goody's story should highlight the fact that people should no longer fear cancer as they have in the past.

Goody, who was diagnosed with cervical cancer last year, was forced to undergo more surgery over the weekend in a bid to relieve her “awful pain”.

Speaking on the Andrew Marr show, Daltrey, a fundraiser for The Teenage Cancer Trust, said Goody's last 12 months had been a “terrible, sad story”.

“What courage the girl has shown. I think it's been really helpful that she's done what she's done and people have seen it,” he said.

“I know she gets criticised for it – I don't criticise her at all. I admire her for what she's done.”

Daltrey added: “I think it's there's also a lot to be learnt that we shouldn't fear cancer as much as we do.

“The psychological well-being is so important. There's much more success now in curing it.”

Goody's publicist, Max Clifford, told the BBC that doctors were finding it increasingly difficult to control the “great deal of pain” she was feeling in her stomach.

The mother-of-two married her boyfriend, Jack Tweed, in a ceremony last month.

(by Jason Gregory)