Barry Du Bios, the co-host on Network 10’s lifestyle program The Living Room, has recently revealed how he has been rebuilding himself from cancer.
In 2010, Du Bios was diagnosed with plasmacytoma myeloma after his GP revealed that he had a giant tumor on his cervical vertebra, the base of the skull, and his brain. Basically, he had cancer in his bone marrow cells.
Explaining how his father used to inspire him, Du Bois said, “My whole life I’ve had a lot of self-confidence, which I attribute to my dad. I remember going to school carnivals and saying, ‘Do you think I’m going to win, Dad?’ And he’d say, ‘Of course you’re going to win! You’re a Du Bois!’ He taught me that nothing could beat me if I tried.”
He was told that cancer would probably kill him within three months. He underwent surgery and radiation therapy. Three months after undergoing the cancer treatment, he walked onto the sets of The Renovators.
Du Bios recalled, “I felt like I’d smashed that (cancer) opponent pretty quickly. I figured, ‘You tried to get me, but you step into the ring with me and you can’t hold your hands up, you’re going to get knocked out’. That’s what I felt I’d done. The following year I met Amanda Keller and next thing I know I’m on The Living Room.”
The Australian building expert said that he made some lifestyle changes and threw himself into work. Soon after, his wife gave birth to beautiful twins.
His doctors explained to him that the type of cancer he had was going to manifest again but this time in the form of multiple myeloma, cancer of plasma cells. And in 2017, h was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, which knocked him out and he was scared for the first time because he was a father.
Du Bios underwent a double dose of chemotherapy, which totally drained him. He also underwent stem cell transplant. He was in isolation for more than 20 days.
He said he was 58 at that time and told himself, “If I get through this, I will do everything in my power to be a powerful man again’. In fact, I set a goal to become the fittest, strongest, most powerful 60-year-old in the country. Amanda visited me in hospital when I’d lost about 20 kilograms and looked terrible. But already I had the rubber bands out, trying to do pseudo bench-presses.”
“For me, strength is looking like you’re a man, looking like you’ve got biceps and triceps, strong pecs and a set of abs. But the truth is I rushed into the exercise,” said the mentor of The Renovators. “A couple of friends would come to visit and I’d suggest we go for a brisk walk of a couple of kilometers, but 150 meters down the street I’d have to drop to one knee and they’d have to hold me or I’d pass out.”
He recalled, “I went home weak and frail. After a time, I realized I couldn’t keep beating myself up for not rebuilding fast enough physically. So what I resolved to do was strengthen my mental health even more.”
“I really knuckled down on my meditation and the understanding of my body. Slowly but surely, in my home gym, I’m trying to regain the physical strength that I want my children to remember. Even if it’s just a half-hour of stretching and light weights, I can get into that,” he added.
Du Bios was aware of the fact that cancer he has is incurable but he feels he is in a great place. He said, “The best medicine a human can have is good nutrition, plenty of fluids, regular exercise, plenty of sunshine and a positive outlook on life. If you have all those things, your body will respond. I’m 60 next year. What I want is for my children to be able to tell their children one day that their dad was a powerful man.”
