Amanda Keller breaks down speaking to Barry Du Bois about his cancer battle
Barry Du Bois has shared an emotional account about his battle with cancer since his plasmacytoma myeloma returned in October of last year.
Speaking to his longtime friend Amanda Keller on the Amanda and Jonesy’s radio show, Barry and Amanda held back tears when his “karaoke song” Drive by Alan Jackson was played to introduce him.
“Buggar, I didn’t want to cry,” Amanda remarked.
“You got me with that song,” Barry replied.
But the 57-year-old father-of-two was upbeat and positive about his progress so far.
“Last night was the best night I’ve had for a while. I feel great. I’ve had a rough week, there’s no doubt about it, and, yeah, it’s been a struggle, but overall I feel pretty good,” he said.
“I feel like my progress is more advanced than where the doctor’s want it, which I’m excited about. I’ve said from the outset, you know, I was going to do everything possible to make this the best journey it can be and the results of that are starting to pay-off, so I’m excited.”
Barry explained he underwent four rounds of chemo and stem cell and bone marrow retrieval at the end of last year and is now going through the hardest part of the battle.
“It takes about ten days for you to get to your weakest, which is about today for me, my white blood cells are at zero at the moment. But it also takes ten days for the stem cells to start seeding, so I’m hoping today they’re going to start seeding, or growing, in my body ... I’m going to have another couple of bad days, while I’m at this very low point, and then, the trick is I’ll start bouncing back,” he said.
Du Bois was first diagnosed with plasmacytoma myeloma in 2011 and made the devastating announcement in October last year that his cancer had returned.
Amanda began tearing up when speaking about the return of the Living Room, which they both co-host, telling Barry, “I just miss you, I just miss you.”
Barry replied: “Let’s not be upset, let’s be really positive, I’m excited about the show tonight.”
The pair even tentatively spoke about when he might return to the show.
“It might be a month or so yet, I am weak there’s no doubt about it. But still stronger than the average bloke they reckon,” Barry said.
He praised the support he’s been receiving from the public throughout this ordeal.
“It’s just incredible, it’s an incredible inspiration for me and a real uplifting experience for me as well,” he said.