Melbourne Football Club president Jim Stynes has bravely joked about his battle with cancer and the loss of his hair at the club's best and fairest function.

Stynes, a 264-game ruckman and 1991 Brownlow Medal winner who took over as president with a new board last year, spoke to about 800 people including players, sponsors and supporters at the club's best and fairest function.

Stynes said he is on a four-week break from radiation treatment for three brain tumours that have developed since his surgery to remove cancerous growths from his body in July.

His hair began to fall out on Tuesday, just as this round of radiation treatment ended, he said.

"Obviously, it's hard not to notice the nude nut," Stynes said.

"I was actually hoping to come with a number two (haircut) but it sort of got ahead of me yesterday. It started to fall out.

"When my daughter (Matisse) got to see it there this morning she got a bit of a shock to say the least. She's coping, she had a good laugh.

"My four-year-old boy (Tiernan) has got a number two . He thought it was very cool. If he thinks it's cool, I'm very happy with that."

Stynes said his radiation treatment would begin again soon.

"At the end of November I have to do one more session which should, please God, finish it off, get rid of the tumours in the brain.

"As you can see I'm feeling a lot better since Monday, because when you are going through it you get nauseous and, as my poor wife (Samantha) has had to deal with, you get grumpy and you're not as much fun to be around.

"So, I'm starting to perk up a bit."

Stynes offered the Demons faithful some hope after a season that included few on field highlights and a second straight wooden spoon.

"I see it as the dawning of a new era. We have been through 15 months of saving and really stabilising our club," he said.

"We have restructured our club, and we've bottomed out as a team, and between last year and this year we have the opportunity through the draft to rebuild.

"Obviously, we just need a little bit of patience from everyone."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP