JONNIE Irwin’s cancer has almost killed him twice – but he’s not giving in to a terminal diagnosis.
The 49-year-old TV personality, who was axed by Channel 4’s A Place in the Sun after producers were made aware of his illness, has shared his daily struggles in a new podcast.
Father-of-three Jonnie said: “I have been close to death's door, twice at least.”
Doctors told him he only had six months to live when they discovered lung cancer two-and-a-half years ago.
He defied those predictions, despite the fatal condition spreading to his brain.
In a new podcast titled OneChat, Jonnie explained: “I am living with cancer rather than dying from cancer.”
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Finding a silver lining in the horrific situation, Jonnie said that living with cancer had meant he was able to spend more time with his three boys – Rex, three, and two-year-old twins Rafa and Cormac.
Jonnie, who is married to Jessica Holmes, said: "I’ve been home more than ever before and I’m lucky to have seen every bit of their upbringing, and see how they change.
“That makes me very proud. And I’m kind of thankful for that.”
He also feels more like his true self since publicly announcing last November that he had the fatal condition.
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6Jonnie added: “The day I came out and told the world that I had cancer, terminal cancer, is the day I started living again. It’s like being Jonnie Irwin again and I actually feel alive.”
But he admitted the brain therapy has had a devastating effect on his personality.
Jonnie said: “You lose your memory, you lose your patience. I have got a very short temper.
“It’s not made me a better person, that’s for sure.”
'Written off'
A Place in the Sun said they didn’t want to replace Jonnie, but were no longer able to insure him when he was filming abroad.
In the podcast interview, Jonnie said he kept the diagnosis a secret because he "had to pay the bills" and revealed how he felt about the treatment he received from show bosses.
"As soon as you say you’ve got cancer, people just write you off, people just think you are going to cark it.
“Unfortunately, one of the companies claimed they couldn’t insure me and so they didn’t renew my contract and left a massive hole in my income," he said.
As soon as you say you’ve got cancer, people just write you off, people just think you are going to cark it
"I felt like I’d been thrown on a scrap heap. They recruited within a week and then I saw someone else doing my job.”
In March he posted a selfie of himself and co-host Jasmine Harman at A Place In the Sun's live show in Manchester but was quick to explain that it didn't mean he had returned to the show.
On Instagram he wrote: "Last week I got to team up with my mate again at @aplaceinthesunofficial Live. It was the busiest for years but, for some reason, the papers are talking about it as a comeback for me.
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"Just to confirm @aplaceinthesunofficial is a separate company running the website and affiliated business and has supported me continuously though-out which I’m eternally grateful for.
"Here’s looking forward to the next one!"
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