Comedian Dai Henwood says he’s learning not to fear death as he wages a public cancer battle, including 51 rounds of chemotherapy.
The comic and TV presenter reveals he has also endured eight operations on his lungs, including a procedure to drain three litres of fluid.
The former Lego Masters NZ host spoke candidly about his battle with bowel cancer on the Between Two Beers podcast, which is available on the TVNZ+ platform.
Henwood, 48, was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in 2020 but did not disclose the diagnosis publicly until 2023.
His recent 51st round of chemotherapy had proved to be the hardest yet, he told podcast hosts Steve Holloway and Seamus Marten.
"That was the hardest I’ve ever had in my life,” he said.
“It takes such a heavy mental toll and physical toll that it takes a while to come out of it.”
Henwood described the surgeries as “pretty hectic - that’s a lot of trauma for your body to go through”.
The comedian said undergoing chemotherapy was physically and mentally gruelling, but after his latest treatment he was “feeling great to be honest”.
Henwood said he was now taking the targeted cancer drug Cetuximab, which had helped to shrink tumours in his lungs and to ease his breathing.
He was also considering applying for clinical trials in both New Zealand and Australia but stressed his current standard of care was still working.
Henwood also revealed that he purchased health insurance while at a barbecue two years before his cancer was diagnosed and he was “blessed’ with the medical care he had received.
He has a university degree in Eastern religions and during his cancer journey he said he had overcome the fear of dying.
“Who knows when it’s going to happen but the fear of it is gone … now it’s just the joy of living,” he told the podcast.
The father of two was asked how to explain a cancer diagnosis and treatment to his children and said: “Honesty and small timeframes. Tell them what’s happening, do you have any questions?
“Humans have this want to talk too much and over-explain.”
Top podcasts land on TVNZ
Between Two Beers is among a range of top podcasts now available to view on TVNZ+.
TVNZ Chief News and Content Officer Nadia Tolich said the collaboration with Frank Podcasts was designed to empower Kiwi talent and open new distribution opportunities for the country’s best podcast creators.
“We’re especially thrilled to introduce the hugely successful Between Two Beers podcast to audiences in this format, showcasing local stories and voices and evolving how podcasts live within the wider TVNZ+ ecosystem,” she said.
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