{"id":739058,"date":"2026-06-16T00:37:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T00:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/739058\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T00:37:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T00:37:13","slug":"mount-gambier-resident-ben-whitehead-in-remission-after-surprise-cancer-trial-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/739058\/","title":{"rendered":"Mount Gambier resident Ben Whitehead in remission after surprise cancer trial results"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ben Whitehead has not stopped smiling since finding out he has entered remission for stage four peripheral T-cell lymphoma.<\/p>\n

The Mount Gambier man had been travelling to Melbourne regularly to take part in clinical trials to treat the cancer, but did not expect to enter remission so soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I was going up for the next round of the goo and I had another round of scans and the doctor has just looked at me and he dropped the F-bomb,” he said.<\/p>\n

“He said, ‘You’re in remission, mate’.”<\/p>\n

Mr Whitehead is the only known person with this type of specific cancer in Australia.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Ben Whitehead was given three months to live in October 2025. (Supplied: Ben Whitehead)<\/p>\n

“They can take the genetic sequencing of the cancers now. They can run it through databases,” he said.<\/p>\n

Mr Whitehead, who has shared his cancer journey on social media, said doctors used these results to tailor drugs for different cancers.<\/p>\n

“I was basically on death row and then you have been given a second chance,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I just want to spread awareness of what I have been through and that it is OK to ask for a second opinion.”<\/p>\n

Conceding he had “never read a book”, Mr Whitehead now plans to write about his experience and use of humour to get through the difficult times.<\/p>\n

“I’ve always been a practical joker. On my first drug trial, I wandered in with a fake rat’s tail, just for some giggles,” he said, highlighting the fact he was a lab rat.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Ben Whitehead entertained hospital staff with his nipple tassels. (Supplied: Ben Whitehead)<\/p>\n

He said the first to learn of his remission were his children.<\/p>\n

“It was a hard moment because I was sitting in the waiting room where there are people who probably just heard their worst news. That was a surreal moment,” he said.<\/p>\n

Second trial a lifesaver<\/p>\n

After Mr Whitehead was unable to continue with treatment at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre because new cancer cells developed, his doctor suggested another clinical trial through Monash University.<\/p>\n

\"Profile<\/p>\n

Ben Whitehead says he is looking forward to moving on with his life. (ABC South East SA: Josh Brine)<\/p>\n

He started the second trial in January not knowing if the treatment would be effective.<\/p>\n

“It was such an unknown because the cancer that I’ve got \u2026 there’s not really someone else with it,” he said.<\/p>\n

“That’s the hard thing with it. You’re walking in blind and you’re hoping that it’s going to do something.<\/p>\n

“[The treatment is] a targeted therapy, not an immunotherapy. It targets the protein that the cancer grows on by linking itself to it, making it unavailable for the cancer to use, starving it.”<\/p>\n

\"Hospital<\/p>\n

Ben Whitehead was recommended a different clinical trial after scans found new nodules during treatment. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica)<\/p>\n

Mr Whitehead said his cancer treatment had not only been an emotional journey, but was financially difficult.<\/p>\n

“You build a nest egg because you might want a holiday or save for the car. That got consumed pretty quickly,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I basically lived in Melbourne for six months.”<\/p>\n

A long journey<\/p>\n

His journey with cancer has had many twists and turns after he noticed his health change significantly in October 2025.<\/p>\n

“In a matter of weeks, I went from someone that could run 130 kilometres a week down to someone that struggled to mow a lawn,” he previously told the ABC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Following an ambulance trip to the hospital at Mount Gambier, preliminary testing discovered he had cancer and was given three months to live.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Ben Whitehead lived an active lifestyle before lymphoma developed and sapped his energy. (ABC South East SA: Josh Brine)<\/p>\n

Mr Whitehead has thanked the doctors and wider medical teams for helping him through this journey.<\/p>\n

“There has been some pretty crazy things there when it comes to the health system, bad and good, but we got a result and there’s no point dwelling on the past,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It is amazing it has come to this. A huge thank you to all who have got me here.”<\/p>\n

Mr Whitehead will travel to Melbourne once a month to continue receiving the new treatment.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Philip Thompson suggested another clinical trial with Monash University. (Supplied: Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre)<\/p>\n

An emotional rollercoaster<\/p>\n

While the news has been overwhelmingly positive, Mr Whitehead still acknowledged how tough the journey had been for him and his loved ones.<\/p>\n

“The pain is indescribable. I have never experienced anything like it,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I had to inject myself with a drug that promoted blood growth and the pain that came from that resonated, basically, from inside your bones [outward].<\/p>\n

“For those that were unfortunate enough to see me in those pain states, it affected them more than it did me.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Ben Whitehead has been sharing his cancer journey online to educate and inspire others. (ABC South East SA: Josh Brine)<\/p>\n

“Sitting in a hospital bed for as long as I did, it was the first time that I really sat there and listened to myself. I realised that I do actually like myself.<\/p>\n

“That was such a weird moment, knowing that I’m not a bad guy. I actually don’t mind being me.”<\/p>\n

But for now, it is time to celebrate.<\/p>\n

“I’m just going to enjoy things for a while,” Mr Whitehead said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ben Whitehead has not stopped smiling since finding out he has entered remission for stage four peripheral T-cell…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":739059,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,250435,99,1617,2287,18568,1679,356806,65359,16993,79452],"class_list":["post-739058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-ben-whitehead","tag-business","tag-cancer","tag-clinical-trial","tag-lymphoma","tag-medicine","tag-monash-univeristy","tag-peter-maccallum-cancer-centre","tag-remission","tag-t-cell"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=739058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/739059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=739058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=739058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=739058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}