BUCKiT® #62-David Downs: From Terminal Cancer to Miracle Treatment Plays Out Like a Hollywood Movie — Phil Follows Up With David One Year Later!

BUCKiT with Phil Keoghan

It’s November 2017 – 12 rounds of chemotherapy, 8 weeks in the hospital over 9 months – this husband and father of three sons is fighting for his life with a rare form of blood cancer. A CT scan reveals the return of the tumor and the chance of surviving has been shot. He has 6-12 months to live or find a cure overseas. But that was then! Cut to August 2019, and in front of me is what can only be described as a living, breathing miracle.

In January 2017, New Zealand author and comedian David Downs resolved to lose weight and spend more time with family and friends. A few weeks later, he thought he had come down with the flu but tests revealed that David had advanced blood cancer. He went straight into an aggressive course of chemotherapy.

With family and friends supporting him, David endured a grueling year long journey, filled with as many dramatic twists and turns as a Hollywood movie.

Early 2018 I caught up with David in LA. He had just taken part in a clinical trial for CAR T cell therapy in Boston. It was his desperate last-ditch attempt to save himself after being told he only had months to live.

One year later, here we are again – sitting at my kitchen bench catching up, sipping New Zealand wine, and talking about his second chance at life.