''I needed someone to come up to me, give me a big hug and say: 'I think you're going to be OK.''
His friends gave him suggestions for cures they found on websites but all he wanted was honesty.
''I had people coming up to me saying: 'Lyndon, I've been on the internet and you've got to dig up that tree and grind the roots up ... you've got to get goat's blood and drink it three times a day.
''What people say and what we hear are two different things. Do you know what I was hearing? 'Lyndon, you need to do this or you're going to die'.''
Mr Pyper (49), who splits his time between Cromwell and Earnscleugh, was diagnosed with melanoma at 44. He had had a mole on his lower back all his life.
About five years ago, he had the mole checked out and removed.
Every three months thereafter he had a meeting with a surgeon.
Twelve months after having the mole removed he was told everything was fine.
''But five weeks later I found a lump under my arm,'' Mr Pyper said.
''I rung the surgeon and ... he just said: 'Well, it's melanoma.''
Within 2½ weeks, Mr Pyper was in hospital with the lump by then 42mm, the size of a golf ball.
''I went from a 10% chance of reoccurrence in 10 years to full-blown melanoma.''
As a builder who owned his own business, he wore shorts and a T-shirt and some sunscreen but probably not as much as he should have, he admitted.
He stopped work, shut down his building business and took eight months off.
He said the Government could have provided him with a sickness benefit of $300 a week but it would not have covered his business, mortgage and family expenses.
To survive, he had income protection insurance and trauma insurance, which he said saved his life.
He said the experience taught him a lot, not only about himself but also other people.
''Ultimately you go through the journey by yourself, even though you have a lot of people around you that are well-wishing,'' Mr Pyper said.
''I've come out a much better person. I want to get out there and help other people. I'm more aware of people around me.''
Mr Pyper said he was not yet back at work - he was just slowly getting back to a normal life.
Mr Pyper is just one of many New Zealanders who have suffered from melanoma.
A Cancer Society statement said in 2013, 489 Kiwis died of skin cancer and 73% of those deaths were from melanoma.
New Zealand now has the highest per capita rate of melanoma in the world - and has just overtaken Australia.
University of Otago Cancer Society Social and Behavioural Research Unit co-director Associate Prof Tony Reeder said it was time for New Zealanders to take the matter seriously.
''We have four to five times the rate of melanoma in Europe or America. More people die of skin cancer in New Zealand than road traffic crashes every year.''
The Cancer Society statement said it was essential for people to be Sunsmart - it recommended a wide-brimmed hat, shirts with collars and sleeves, shade and sunscreen with at least SPF 30 broad spectrum.
Mr Pyper said making an appointment to see the doctor saved his life.
''Everyone carries a phone. It wouldn't be that hard to put a reminder in your phone right now and set it up to go off once a year to go to the doctor. Don't wait until you're sick.''
