Tracey Emin proudly poses in her underwear as she celebrates her 63rd birthday and says 'I want to live as long as possible and work until the day I die' following bladder cancer battle

 proudly posed in her underwear as she celebrated her 63rd birthday in a reflective Instagram post on Friday.

The artist candidly said she 'wants to live as long as possible and work until the day she dies' in the post, following her bladder battle six years ago.

She wrote: '63 years old, size 16.. technically I’m 62 in this photo, it was taken in my hotel room in Rome when I shooed everyone out, when I needed to get ready for my opening.

'My aim in the next year is to get physically as well as possible. I want to live as long as possible and work until the day I die.

'Very happy at 63… Love Dame Tracey xx

'Ps please to my friends, no gifts, no flowers, no presents. Please as always make a donation to the  AIDS foundation.

Tracey previously underwent a series of major operations in 2020 after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of bladder cancer during .

Medics removed her bladder, urethra, lymph nodes and parts of her intestine and vagina to prevent the tumour from spreading.

She was fitted with a stoma pouch, an opening on the abdomen, to allow urine to be diverted out of the body and disposed of via a urostomy bag.

Tracey has been frank about adapting to life post-surgery and often shares candid updates about her health on social media.

In an old Instagram post, she wrote: 'This is my stoma. Most people have never seen one. It's something I'm supposed to hide forever.'

She added: 'It's part of my intestine attached to the outside of my body. Without it being there and functioning correctly, I will die.' 

'[It's] live flesh. Fragile and delicate. Surrounded by scar tissue and swollen puffy fatty flesh.

'I have almost total muscle wastage in my core abdomen, stomach. My body will never be the same.

'To be honest I find wearing the bag quite depressing. Nothing cool about carrying a bag of p*** around with you. 

'But it's life.. my life now. Many disabilities can not be seen. But I thought I'd show you mine.'