GARDEN ROUTE | KAROO NEWS - For Joshua (AKA Josh), a 29-year-old from Cape Town, this day carries deep personal meaning. Eight years ago, he was the one staring down a devastating diagnosis. Today, he is the one offering hope.
It was a sunny afternoon on a boat in Langebaan when his life changed forever.
At just 21 years old, with a cold beer in hand and his fishing rod cast into the water, the young University of Cape Town student answered a phone call from his doctor that would alter the course of his life.
"I was sitting on a boat drinking beers in the sun, struggling to catch a single fish, when the doctor called and said I needed to come back in for more tests," Josh recalls. "My life changed from that moment on and has never been the same."
A diagnosis that changed everything
Like many young adults, he had dismissed the warning signs that something was wrong. Exhaustion, dark circles under his eyes, and a lack of energy all seemed like the natural consequences of a demanding varsity lifestyle, juggling his Finance Degree with the social rhythm of student life.
But a routine blood test told a different story. Within three days, Josh was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), a form of blood cancer and his family's world was turned upside down.
His parents began travelling constantly between Franschhoek and Cape Town while continuing to run their two restaurants. His younger brother was preparing for matric examinations, while his 12-year-old sister tried to make sense of what was happening to her big brother.
Within a day of his diagnosis, Josh began treatment.
Over the months that followed, he endured six rounds of intensive chemotherapy, monthly spinal taps, and more than 30 blood and platelet transfusions. Strict infection-control measures meant he could no longer socialise, travel, or live the life of a typical 21-year-old.
"After my diagnosis, everything stopped. My world shrunk down to three places: an apartment in Cape Town with my mom or dad, the hospital, and home in Franschhoek. And worst of all, the car between those three places," he says.
Josh in hospital.
The stranger who gave him a second chance
As Josh's treatment progressed, his medical team began searching for a stem cell donor for a transplant. His siblings were tested first, but neither was a match. The search expanded to the global stem cell registry and then came an extraordinary discovery.
Josh's best unrelated donor match was a young woman living in Cape Town, the very same city as him. At the time, it was the first South African-on-South African unrelated stem cell match in more than five years.
In November 2018, through DKMS Africa, Josh received the life-saving stem cell transplant he had been waiting for. Despite the physical and emotional toll of recovery, he experienced no major complications and was discharged after just 21 days.
Josh at Rosebank International donor drive.
Turning survival into purpose
Josh is now using his second chance to give others the same hope he was given. He supports donor drives and awareness campaigns, encouraging young South Africans to register as potential stem cell donors.
His mission became deeply personal after he mentored a young matric learner who was diagnosed with leukaemia and later lost his battle when the disease returned.
"If I can be the reason one person in a room signs up, and that person goes on to save someone else, then it feels like the right way to honour both him and my donor," Josh says.
Joshua Adams today. Photos: Supplied
This National Cancer Survivors Day, he hopes his story moves young South Africans to act: “You hold the power to change and save a life. A few minutes of your time could one day mean a lifetime for someone else.”
To register as a stem cell donor, click here.
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