Robin Gibb (Reuters file photo)

Late Bee Gees legend Robin Gibb refused to undergo vital scans in the early stages of his health battle because he wanted to carry on with his music commitments.

The veteran singer, who died in May following a long battle with liver and colon cancer, sparked concerns about his health in 2010 when he revealed he underwent an emergency operation on his intestine.

He was hospitalized again in April 2011 and subsequently called off tour dates, and his widow Dwina now reveals she had urged him to quit his performing duties sooner to address his health issues - to no avail.

She tells Britain's Daily Mail Weekend magazine, "(Son) R-J and I sat up pleading with him to go (for scans). But he was intent on going to Australia as part of a world tour that had been arranged.

"He didn't want to stop and I said, 'Please just have the scan.' Despite all his wonderful ways, Robin could be very stubborn and he never liked bad news - he just didn't want to know.

"I was, of course, very worried. And I couldn't go on the tour with him because my mother Sadie ended up in hospital with a blockage in the colon - the same thing as Robin - so I had to go back to Ireland to look after her with my sister.

"I don't think the delay helped things, especially as it was discovered the cancer had gone on to a secondary stage."