Comedian Dai Henwood has spoken candidly about living with incurable stage 4 bowel cancer, saying the experience has been a “diagnosis for two” – himself and his partner.
After revealing his diagnosis on social media on Friday, The Project shared part of an interview between Henwood and host Jaquie Brown.
On an extended version of that interview on YouTube Henwood discussed coming to terms with the disease and how to support people living with cancer.
The father of two, who is married to Joanne Kelly, said the mental toll of his bowel cancer “has been just as hard on [his wife]” as it has for him.
“Be very mindful of people’s partners, because to be honest, if you’re in a very happy relationship, and you love each other, that cancer diagnosis is a diagnosis for two people,” Henwood said.
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“Partners need support too … just doing something small for people – shouting someone a massage then popping round to look after the kids while they go have a massage, those sorts of things.”
On Twitter, the 44-year-old revealed his cancer was incurable and had spread to his lungs and liver.
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Dai Henwood opened up on his stage four bowel cancer diagonsis on The Project.
Henwood emphasised the importance of receiving acts of kindness from friends and family.
“I’ve found saying ‘what do you need?’ can actually be unhelpful,” Henwood said.
“Just doing something – not saying, ‘can I cook you something?’ – just dropping round a little gift basket, just coming round and going ‘hey, I’m taking your kids out … I’ll take your kids to Rainbow’s End, or I’ll take your kids for a scooter.”
The 7 Days co-host also underlined the importance of sensitivity when discussing someone’s cancer with their family.
Abigail Dougherty/Stuff
Henwood highlighted the importance of “just doing something” for friends or family members with cancer.
“If you have any friends or relatives who are going through cancer, be really mindful of their families,” Henwood said.
“Don’t go up and talk to people’s kids about it, because that can happen, and you can really scare kids.”
Despite having “never been more scared in [his] life” when receiving his diagnosis, Henwood spoke about how spiritualism had helped him to stay “calm and loving,” highlighting practices such as qi gong and meditation.
He was first introduced to Eastern spirituality during a trip to Japan at 18 where he met a Buddhist actor who taught him zazen meditation, a primary practice of Zen Buddhism.
KATIE LITTLE PHOTOGRAPHY/Supplied
Henwood’s relationship with Eastern spirituality has helped him stay “calm and loving.”
Henwood said he tried to “focus on these things that [he] can control” in his cancer journey, including stress.
“I can’t do chemotherapy, that’s something I put that in the hands of my medical providers, but I can do meditation which lowers stress, which is scientifically shown to increase cancer growth.
“I’m living and I’m happy … I love today, I’m gonna love tomorrow.”