THIRTY- THREE years in remission – that was the story radio presenter Mark Pilgrim planned to tell the world this year.
He’d just marked World Cancer Day on 4 February by posting a photo with the number 33 written on his palm. But the ink had barely dried when he received the gutwrenching news: he has stage 4 lung cancer and the disease has spread to his lymph nodes and pelvic bone.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Mark tells YOU when we meet him at the Hot 102.7 studios where he hosts a mid-morning show.
“Little did I know it was laughing at me because I obviously already had it. It’s been there for a while. I don’t know how long exactly but a good couple of months.”
Mark’s first brush with the disease came when he was diagnosed with stage 3 testicular cancer at 18. Now he’s gearing up to fight again at 52.
“This time around I know the journey. It doesn’t make it less scary but I’m not as nave,” he says. “I’m strong and I’m scared. The two run side by side. I acknowledge both emotions and that makes me stronger. You have the will to fight even harder when you’re scared.”
For nearly 30 years he’s encouraged people living with cancer not to give up, Mark says – now it’s time for him to live by his words. “I will have bad days but I’m going to fight.”
HE HAD a persistent cough for a few months after contracting severe Covid in June last year, so the coughing wasn’t a red flag at first. But around the end of November, it started getting worse.
Bu hikaye YOU South Africa dergisinin 24 March 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye YOU South Africa dergisinin 24 March 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
BALLON IN THE BAG
Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante says his Ballon d'Or win is a victory for Spanish football
IT WAS ALL A LIE
A new doccie exposes the Grey's Anatomy writer who fabricated her life story
'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'
After her husband, anticorruption activist Alexei Navalny, was poisoned and murdered by the Kremlin, she became the public face of Russia's opposition. In this candid interview Yulia Navalnaya opens up about life on the run, her perilous family life and why she's continuing her husband's fight to save their country
AGREE TO DISAGREE
Trevor Noah on how his childhood squabbles with his mother inspired his delightful new book
PAUSE THE CLOCK
Researchers have discovered that the ageing process spikes at 44 and 60. Here's what you can do to slow it down
MPOOMY ON TOP
We chat to SA's most popular female podcaster about love, loss and her booming success
MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME
Tinus Drotské says his sibling, ex Bok Nǎka, is the victim in the brawl with a neighbour that landed up in court
MATT THE RECLUSE
A year after his friend's tragic death, the actor continues to shun the spotlight
A LEAP OF FAITH
After her husband tried to kill her by tampering with her parachute she thought she'd never trust a man again-but now she's found love
THEY'RE MY KIDS!
This West Coast woman treats her monkeys as iftheyre humans and animal activists are not happy about it