Barry Du Bois has revealed he’s set to make a long-awaited TV comeback as he continues his brave fight against cancer.
The 57-year-old, who last year told fans he had been diagnosed with plasmacytoma myeloma, has been going through extreme treatment to try and beat the disease. It’s the second time he’s had cancer, with several tumours returning to his body in 2017. He had previously been in remission for six years.
Now Barry, who is usually a fixture on Channel Ten’s lifestyle program The Living Room, has revealed he’ll be returning to his much-loved show on March 30.
Sharing a photo from a newspaper story of him looking healthy and happy, he wrote on Instagram: “I have had plenty of Chemo but it’s been the support of my family, friends and 10s of Thousands of @livingroomtv fans that will see me back on the couch with Amanda, Chris & Miguel on Friday 30th March. I can’t wait.”
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He told the Daily Telegraph: “My prognosis out of this could be between five and 10 years. I am going to double that.”
He has reportedly been through a bone marrow retrieval, a stem cell transplant, and isolated chemo lasting 21 days and leaving him 15 kilograms lighter – and he described it as “horrific”. However, showing his winning humour, he joked he now hopes his hair “forgets” it’s grey and grows back dark again.
It comes after Barry had a visit from his co-star Amanda Keller in hospital just a few weeks ago, and the pair later shared their tender moment on the show.
Fighting back tears, an emotional Barry – who wore a hat and loose t-shirt for the appearance – said: “I got really angry but I said this can’t be my time … so I just prepared myself as best as humanly possible.”
Keen to remain positive however, he added: “I got physically fit, fitter than I’ve been in a long time, and lost a few of those kilos I didn’t need. So I started this race as favourite.” As Amanda commented on him looking well, he admitted he’d had a few tough days, but has come out fighting.
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“I got a little infection, which is what happens in this situation. The chemo’s job is to take your white cells down to zero,” he said, before revealing he’d struggled not seeing his children every day. “I’ve had a couple of tough days emotionally, I haven’t seen the kids for so long… But the next day after the antibiotics and the care from the nurses and the doctors I woke up a new man, I’m ready to go again.”
Keller then said: “There’s so much love for you Baz, everywhere I go people say ‘give my love to Baz'”, and he responded: “I don’t think love is far off fixing the world, the little bit of humanity and love that you get is what really keeps you going.”
Barry has been giving fans a glimpse into his cancer battle on social media throughout, and another recent post was of him receiving chemotherapy from hospital. Posing shirtless in the shot, Barry offered his fans an explanation as to what was happening.
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“400mg Chemo, 12 million Stem cells, loads of diarrhoea and nausea & infection & fever,” he wrote. “BUT I AM COMING BACK BABY!!! I am on the home run thanks to everyone for you love and support. #cancer #health #wholelife.”
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A month earlier, the father-of-two revealed that his treatment meant he missed seeing his twins, Bennett and Arabella, off to school on their very first day. Understandably heartbroken, Barry explained his frustration at not being there for his kids.
“An incredibly proud day with my beautiful babies starting school, bitterly disappointed I can not be with them this morning but I guess every day I am in this hospital is a day closer to it all being over,” he said at the time. “Thank you all for your support, I can’t be prouder and still think I am the luckiest bloke in the world.”