A year ago he'd accepted that it could be game over. But Xolani Gwala has been given extra time in his match against cancer.
He'd been SA's "breakfast date" and morning companion for years, but in September 2017, the 702 presenter announced he was taking a break from radio after he was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.
After he fell ill the month before, doctors mistakenly thought Gwala, then 42, had a viral infection. It wasn't until antibiotics repeatedly failed and his temperature neared 40°C that his wife rushed him to hospital.
The words he heard after being admitted the previous day left him almost speechless. "Mr Gwala, you're young, you're my age. We couldn't have possibly thought this but unfortunately we've got to tell you that you have cancer," was how a doctor broke the news.
DEATH A POSSIBILITY
After hearing "cancer", Gwala blanked out and only saw lips moving. His condition was dire; the cancer had spread from his colon to his liver, which meant death was a possibility he had to come to terms with.
"I didn't have a problem with it necessarily. The only problem I had is that I was worried about my kids, my wife and my family. But you've got to reconcile with the possibility of death, and I did," he said.
Gwala faced a series of challenges. The first was telling his family, starting with his wife, former Miss SA Peggy-Sue Khumalo, followed by his younger brother, who he commissioned to break the news to his family in KwaZulu-Natal. Hearing how "hysterical" his two eldest daughters were on hearing the news was the toughest thing. Gwala's four daughters are aged two, eight, 14 and 15.
"I was in hospital when my wife told them. They were hysterical about it because they understand what cancer is, they know what chemo is, they can google these things. For them it was a lot harder," he said.
Gwala said his wife was "everything" to him and that she had never left his side throughout his illness."She was the first person to force me to hospital, because I actually thought it was flu. From that point on she was in the hospital every single day. I don't remember a day she didn't come to see me in hospital." But it had been "extremely difficult" for her.
"I think she understood the gravity of the situation more than I did."
On three occasions his wife rushed him to hospital at 3am. "She was amazing to me."
After an emergency colon operation, two liver operations and 12 sessions of chemotherapy, Gwala is in remission.
Though he described chemotherapy as "hectic", he had an interesting take on the operations. Gwala's phone is filled with pictures of his scars and cancerous bits that were removed from his organs.
"After theatre, when I woke up, the first thing I looked at was whether it was a big scar or a small scar. If it was a small scar then it meant game over for me, that they couldn't operate. It means the cancer had spread so much that they couldn't do anything about it. That's when they say: 'Go home, just be comfortable, we can't help you,'" he said.
To his delight it was a big scar. Still "drunk from the anaesthetic" an "excited" Gwala shook his doctor's hand and repeatedly said thank you. The big L-shaped scar across his stomach meant there was no peritoneal cancer and the surgeon had been able to successfully operate on his liver.
While the scars have healed, Gwala is still in pain and dealing with some side effects from the chemotherapy.
TOO MANY PEOPLE DYING
"Chemo affects everything, it affects your memory, your speech. With me right now I have something called peripheral neuropathy. It's like pins and needles. I have it in my fingers and also in my toes and I'm permanently cold. I wear two pairs of socks."
Taking it one day at a time, he is determined to raise awareness about cancer.
"There are so many things with cancer that nobody is talking about. There are just way too many people dying silently, too many people can't afford treatment because it's just too expensive. We need to talk about these things. Cancer is just everywhere."
Back behind the microphone in the 3pm-6pm slot, Gwala hopes to break the silence and fight the stigma around cancer.
"For the longest time I didn't know what I loved about radio. Now I know. It's nothing but people. There were people who literally carried me through the past year. My doctor didn't understand how the other patients he treated would ask how Mr Gwala is. In hospital I'd meet someone who was sick, they'd stop me and say: 'Hey, Mr Gwala, we're praying for you.' Now I know what I love about radio, it's people."
Although he's in remission and temporarily back on radio, he's not completely in the clear. "I'm not out of the woods yet. It's just been a month and a half since my last operation. For now, it's way too early and I know it and understand it."
Gwala said his journey has brought his family closer together, but he could tell they were worried about him, especially his wife. "She's never said it, but I know that deep down she's worried about what's going to happen next."..