Channel 10 star Barry Du Bois reveals the emotional moment he was told he had 'three months to live' amid ongoing cancer battle
The former Living Room host, 63, penned an emotional essay for The Gold Coast Bulletin on Tuesday in which he opened up about his journey of trauma, depression and incurable cancer.
The Sydney-born presenter revealed how each painful chapter has helped him develop the positive mindset that keeps him going today.
'I was sitting in a cold, unfamiliar consult room at the hospital, my wife's hand holding mine... Then a doctor who had known me for only a few hours looked me in the eye and told me I had three months to live,' he wrote.
But instead of accepting that grim prognosis, Barry leaned on something far stronger - his own lived experience.
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'They were unaware I'd already been through things that break most people,' he added.
From falling 14 metres off a roof and breaking his back, to enduring years of IVF heartbreak with wife Leonie - including a devastating miscarriage - Barry has known profound physical and emotional pain.
He said he felt 'lost and empty' because 'anyone that loved me was being punished.'
Two weeks after their miscarriage, Leonie was diagnosed with cervical cancer. And while she stayed strong during treatment, Barry spiralled into depression.
'I avoided conversation and started a continual negative conversation with myself that took me into the darkness… Depression is a lonely state and I refused to share my pain. I saw it as a weakness,' he wrote.
But it was Leonie who helped him find his way back.
Barry said his wife helped him find 'purpose, connection and a sense of belonging' again.
He credits that period of reflection and emotional healing for giving him the strength to fight back when he was diagnosed with Plasmacytoma Myeloma - a rare and incurable cancer of the immune system - in 2017.
Barry said his wife Leonie helped him find 'purpose, connection and a sense of belonging' again. Pictured Barry and Leonie with their twins Bennett and Arabella
'So when I got my diagnosis - incurable cancer, three months to live - I didn't fall apart... I knew that from leaning into the previous adversities of life I had the resilience to give the fight of my life.'
He now focuses daily on the things he can control: Mindset, nutrition, movement and connection.
It comes after Barry offered a heartfelt update amid his ongoing cancer battle.
He took to social media in March to reflect on his years-long battle with Plasmacytoma Myeloma.
In an emotional post, Barry shared a candid beachside photo of himself smiling and relaxed while sitting barefoot on the sand, dressed casually in a white t-shirt and matching white shorts.
Alongside the image, Barry also posted a poignant photo of a blue surgical glove with the handwritten words: 'Just because you're struggling doesn't mean you're failing.'
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