One of the winners of a historic 1.3 billion dollar (£1.034 billion) Powerball jackpot last month is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.

Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, of Portland in the US, told a news conference held by the Oregon Lottery that he and his wife Duanpen would split the prize evenly with a friend who chipped in 100 dollars to buy a batch of tickets with them, Laiza Chao.

They are taking a lump sum payment, 422 million dollars (£335 million) after taxes.

“I will be able to provide for my family and my health,” he said, adding that he would “find a good doctor for myself”.

Powerball machine and tickets
It was the eighth-largest lottery prize in US history (AP)

After they bought the shared tickets, Chao sent a photo of the tickets to Mr Saephan and said, “We’re billionaires”. It was a joke before the actual drawing, he said, but the next day it came true.

The winning Powerball ticket was sold in early April at a Plaid Pantry convenience store in Portland, ending a winless streak that had stretched more than three months.

The Oregon Lottery said it had to go through a security and vetting process before announcing the identity of the person who came forward to claim the prize.

Under Oregon law, with few exceptions, lottery players cannot remain anonymous. Winners have a year to claim the top prize.

The jackpot has a cash value of 621 million dollars (£494 million) before taxes if the winner chooses to take a lump sum rather than an annuity paid over 30 years, with an immediate payout followed by 29 annual instalments. The prize is subject to federal taxes and state taxes in Oregon.

The 1.3 billion dollar prize is the fourth largest Powerball jackpot in history, and the eighth largest among US jackpot games, according to the Oregon Lottery.