Looking at Henwood<\/a>, face full of joy as he recalls the laughs he had on that tour, it\u2019s somewhat unfathomable that he\u2019s just been through his toughest chunk ever.<\/p>\n Over winter, Henwood suffered a series of unexpected hospitalisations <\/a>and fluid on his heart and lungs that required surgery, and took a toll on him. <\/p>\n Henwood says the surgery and subsequent recovery were harder than expected, and he took a long time to feel himself again. <\/p>\n \u201cYou basically take it scan-to-scan with your oncologist, and you devise a plan.\u201d<\/p>\n And he\u2019s got a new one; summer with his family, topped and tailed with chemotherapy. <\/p>\n \u201cOne more round of chemo before Christmas, then taking my daughter to Rotorua for a little daddy-daughter trip – everything\u2019s about small time frames,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n \u201cThen it\u2019s all about Christmas and New Year. Then I\u2019ll do a bit of chemo after that.\u201d<\/p>\n Henwood also has a beach plan with fellow comedians Ben Hurley, Jeremy Corbett, Paul Ego and their families. It\u2019s a yearly ritual that he cherishes, and Henwood says he finds a special kind of solace at the beach.<\/p>\n He says while his plan gives him time to enjoy these kinds of moments, it also gives hope of advances in prognosis for those with bowel cancer. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always got my eyes out for anything that\u2019s on the horizon – a new drug trial or something like that.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the moment, I\u2019m just keeping things at bay and really hoping that one of you scientists out there, if you\u2019re watching, just work that bit harder, mate,\u201d he says with a laugh. <\/p>\n And that iconic Henwood, throw-your-head-back laugh, has been crucial to helping him face cancer head-on. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got a WhatsApp group that supports me through things. I recently had scans that weren\u2019t ideal, so treatment needs changing – you have these ups and downs, and laughter is everything to me.\u201d<\/p>\n He credits his best friend, comedian Justine Smith, as one of those key people in his community. <\/p>\n \u201cYou have bad things on this journey, and then I\u2019m at home afterwards, and I\u2019m just reading messages people are sending and having an honest, deep laugh. <\/p>\n \u201cI find laughter so healing, and that\u2019s why I always think laughter is what I need most in the hardest situations.\u201d<\/p>\n Henwood has even found those moments in the hospital\u2019s chemotherapy room, proving there\u2019s no such thing as a bad time for a giggle. <\/p>\n \u201cI go in there and sure it\u2019s bloody tough for everyone who\u2019s doing it and not everyone\u2019s in a good mood, but there\u2019s still laughter. I\u2019ll share a joke with a couple of the people I know, and they might say something funny to me. Laughter is how you can deal with very hard situations.\u201d <\/p>\n One of the hardest things the comedian says he\u2019s facing is the lack of progress when it comes to bowel cancer treatment, which he says hasn\u2019t changed much since his diagnosis five years ago. <\/p>\n \u201cSo I\u2019m trying to keep this classic car on the road until a mechanic has an answer.\u201d <\/p>\n Henwood\u2019s used to not having all the answers. But when he can\u2019t find them, often one of those cherished comedy pals can. <\/p>\n Like when he started in comedy, and threw up before every single show. <\/p>\n Just 18, he so desperately wanted to be able to have a career that it consumed him. <\/p>\n That was until good friend and fellow comedian Michelle A\u2019Court reframed his pre-show panic into something more palatable, explaining, \u201cnerves are the same feeling as excitement\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you just think about it being excited rather than nervous, it sort of changes it. And once that clicked, it made it a bit easier.\u201d <\/p>\n He still threw up, though. <\/p>\nDai Henwood at Piha, which has become an important place of rest and recovery. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
7 Days Live on tour in 2024. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n