The Author: David Downs

In his ‘day job’, David Downs is the CEO of the New Zealand Story. In previous lives he’s also been a comedian, TV and Radio actor, and is now also a genetically modified organism who documented his battle with cancer through 2017 and 2018.

David regularly presents and gives talks on his cancer journey and on the power of positive thinking and optimism, and now helps raise awareness and funds for cancer research in New Zealand. He has written three previous bestselling books: No.8 Re-wired, No.8 Re-charged and Silver Linings.

David lives in Auckland, New Zealand with his wife Katherine and their three children Superman, Batman and The Green Lantern.

The Book: A Mild Touch of the Cancer

“I’ll start in the middle, where the cancer has started, right in the guts...” And so begins businessman, comedian, author – and cancer survivor - David Downs’ remarkable book A Mild Touch of the Cancer.

Contrary to the book’s title, David had lymphoma and it was terminal. But A Mild Touch of the Cancer isn’t your standard ‘how I survived’ compendium. It is a hilarious tale, written while battling one of life’s greatest challenges. It’s a book about living with optimism and positivity, by a self-proclaimed Genetically Modified Organism.

David’s book documents a year of grueling treatment, which at one point nearly made him sell his house in order to raise the necessary $1M for trial CAR-T cell treatment in Boston, US. It was this treatment that saved his life. An unexpected pioneer in genetic engineering, David is now instrumental in assisting Wellington’s Malaghan Institute to begin trials of CAR-T cell therapy in New Zealand.

David’s utterly self-effacing, eye-opening disclosure and ever-positive narrative pulls us in from the get-go and has us laughing and cheering from the side-lines. A Mild Touch of the Cancer includes guest sections by some of NZ’s most well -known comedians, including Jeremy Corbett, Michele A’Court and Paul Ego, and an introduction by kiwi expat and TV star Phil Keoghan.

It’s not just a book for those living with cancer – it’s for anyone that enjoys an uplifting story of survival against the odds – and a good laugh. David is donating all profits from the book to the charities Leukaemia and Blood Cancer NZ www.leukaemia.org.nz, and the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research’s ‘Down With Cancer’ campaign www.downwithcancer.nz.