His message to viewers is, “You might miss $5 from your account right now, but you’ll forget about it in two days.
“All of those $5s add up, and mean someone can get a lift, someone going through a severe surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy can have somewhere to stay, or their whānau can be with them.
“We can all help.”
The comedian has continued to perform live between rounds of chemotherapy, and he’s used his experiences with cancer treatment to create new material for his shows.
“The laughs don’t come from cancer itself, it’s the absurdities of some of the things I’ve been through which people can relate to,” he says.
“It’s not like now it’s all about cancer, but I have to acknowledge the elephant in the room and let people know what I’m going through.
“The first time I did it I got this warm cheering and applause, and I was like, oh my gosh, they’re right behind me,” Henwood says.
“I realised that by talking about it publicly I could help some people, and also help myself.”
Henwood is staying positive throughout his treatment.
“My mantra through this has been ‘optimism won’t cure me, but pessimism will kill me’,” he says.
“I’m not in the business of timelines because everyone responds differently to treatment.
“At the moment what I’m doing is, sort of, maintenance chemotherapy, where I try and get my cancer load as low as possible, and then take a break,” he says.
“I look at it like I’m trying to keep a classic car on the road until we can get the exact right part to get it fully going.”
Henwood has routinely updated fans after revealing his cancer diagnosis in January.
In April he told Woman’s Day his decision to share his story “was the best thing I have done. I feel in a happy, healthy and strong place.”
Last month, when responding to a fan on TikTok, he gave more detail about the surgeries and the most important things he’s learned on his journey.
“I have bowel cancer. I have colorectal cancer, stage 4, which is now called incurable cancer. I had a surgery on my bowel. I had a surgery on my liver. And three surgeries on my lungs,” Henwood said.
“Another little surgery on my liver. Heaps of chemo, heaps of radiation,” says the Kiwi comedian, who became a household name as he starred on TV shows such as Seven Days, Family Feud, Dancing with the Stars and most recently, Lego Masters.
He continued by saying that “at the moment” there are just 10 tumours in his lungs. The 45-year-old also has one against a lymph node that has undergone radiation treatment; “and I believe it’s gone”, he said.
“So yeah, I have bowel cancer in my lungs. I got crazy bum lungs. But hey, it’s something I’m feeling positive about.”
He has routinely shared updates on his journey through TikTok, giving “chemo tips”, advice on how to support loved ones going through chemo and sharing his own experiences.
In one of his most recent videos, Henwood talks about his experiences of using THC to help deal with the side effects of chemo, including the different types of medicinal marijuana available in New Zealand and the different price points.
