Confession box: David Downs on having a lust for life
You ready to confess your sins, David?
I don't sin at all. I am pure-hearted, basically perfect actually.
PRIDE
Two years ago you were terribly sick
with cancer and needed million-dollar treatment in the US. You struggled with the fact that people had set up a Givealittle for you. Was that pride?
That period when I had to rely on other people was really tough. Having to admit I needed help was hard. When I was first diagnosed I spent a lot of time in hospital, and weeks would go by and I would feel really useless. That is really common with people who go through major illnesses; they question their value to society. I had to keep up with techniques to keep myself positive. We also, as a family, realised we needed help and we had counselling as a family group. You can't let pride stand in the way of getting help.
What are you most proud of your family for, in getting through that?
My wife Katherine was incredible. She would talk about "we got cancer, and the doctor told us this..." and people would go, "God, Katherine did you get cancer too?" We were a unit. And the boys through that whole period were so incredibly mature and supportive. I am really proud of them. They had to carry on with their lives, they had school at the time and jobs, and my mother-in-law was amazing, we were so fortunate to have so much support.
You wrote columns about your illness and treatment and now you have a book coming out.
It's not just a book about cancer because that would be pretty boring; it's a book about life and my story has a really cool, happy ending. It's a roller coaster. The book is called A Mild Touch of the Cancer because initially I thought I had a touch of the flu and my doctor said, 'no, it's more serious than that'.