Health issues

‘It’s tough’: Barry Du Bois on what helps him keep faith in cancer fight

May 07, 2018

Barry Du Bois has admitted what he has "isn't curable". Source: Twitter/Studio 10 and Instagram.

Barry Du Bois has revealed positivity has kept him going as he bravely battles cancer for the second time – but admitted some people’s words can make sufferers lose their faith.

The 57-year-old Living Room host recently returned to the show after completing several courses of chemotherapy, and appeared on Studio 10 on Monday to give his fans an update on how he’s doing.

Appearing happy and healthy, as he begins to grow his hair back again, he said: “I’m going good, strong as an ox. It’s a tough gig. What I’ve got is not curable, none of us are getting out of here alive. I’m in the best place I can be in.”

Barry has credited his balanced lifestyle for keeping him feeling as well as can be, and said people’s positivity has helped him through.

"Whatever I put in I want to return. Am I going to put in the effort of a negative thought?… If I put in a smile & a hug & some goodness, it's a big chance I'm going to get a good return on my investment." @Baz_DuBois on staying positive throughout his cancer battle #Studio10 pic.twitter.com/OgiUuQayMu

— Studio 10 (@Studio10au) May 7, 2018

“I’m as strong as I can be. That’s all you can hope for yourself. I meditate every day, I do what workout I can, I eat as healthy as I can,” he added.

“I’m keeping a balance in life because that’s where you’ve got to be. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are, you’ve got to be at your best.”

Asked how he stays so focused, he said: “Whatever I put in I want to return. Am I going to put in the effort of a negative thought? If I put in a smile and a hug and some goodness, it’s a big chance I’m going to get a good return on my investment.”

Meanwhile, he has revealed the few words that can make a huge difference to a cancer sufferer after they’re diagnosed – admitting some people’s reactions can even make them lose “faith”.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfMp8nxlU16/?hl=en&taken-by=baz_dubois

In an excerpt of his book Life Force, published by MammaMia, he said telling people about the illness can be “draining”, and added: “Some people hug you and say you’re the strongest man they know; others are more, like, ‘Ah well, sorry …’ It’s like they’ve given up on you.

“The power of the mind is incredible. If you come across three people in a row that give you the look that you’re not going to make it, you’ll start to lose faith.”

He said he ended up choosing to share his battle in public to inspire others, and said the responses he ended up getting were incredible – with the whole country getting behind him and telling him he could do it.

“If everyone tells you you can do it, you probably can,” he wrote. “If the people surrounding you have doubts, it’s tough.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiYQQesFiPG/?hl=en&taken-by=baz_dubois

Barry first announced his cancer had returned last year after six years in remission.

“It seems that my cancer has come back, reasonably aggressively now I have what is regarded as multiple myeloma,” he said on an episode of The Living Room last October. “We’ve got a cancer in my body that has created several tumours right through my body. Now I see an upside to that, this is just another fight for me that I am quite comfortable I am going to win.”

Since then, he’s been updating fans every step of the way. Barry regularly shares photos and videos on his Instagram page and explains the impacts his cancer treatment has on his life.