Former West Coast and Hawthorn coach Ken Judge has been diagnosed with bone cancer.

The respected AFL commentator was due to go on a three-week holiday with his wife but was rushed to hospital after myeloma depleted his kidney function.

Former Australia cricket captain Kim Hughes said Judge, who is expected to spend at least a week in hospital, was feeling listless before the cancer was discovered.

"Certainly the next couple of months are important and he's just got to take it nice and easy and not sort of rock the boat," Hughes was reported as saying on Perth radio.

"(The holiday) involved about a five or six day walking thing but if he'd gone on that he could have been in real, real trouble."

Myeloma is a bone marrow cancer that weakens the bones, often causing pain and fractures, and also restricts the body's ability to fight infection.

Symptoms include loss of appetite, nausea, thirst, fatigue, muscle weakness, restlessness, and confusion.

Judge played 72 games for Hawthorn and 17 for Brisbane over a top-flight career spanning six seasons.

The 52-year-old coached the Hawks from 1996-99 before taking over at West Coast, where he was axed after just two years in the job.

More recently, Judge has been calling AFL games on ABC radio while also writing a weekly column in The West Australian.

Last year, Judge won the WA media guild's prestigious Geoff Christian Award, which rewards the best AFL journalist in the State.

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