Tomasz Jakubiak, a juror of the popular cooking program “MasterChef”, talked in “Dzień Dobry TVN” about his life with cancer. – It was terribly difficult that I couldn't take my child to kindergarten, I couldn't go for a walk, I couldn't go for coffee with my friends – he admitted. According to his wife Anastasia, life is “completely different” now. – He is very strong on the outside and wants to show everyone that he is fighting – she said. She added that despite everything, there is “fragility, anxiety, fear.”
Tomasz Jakubiak, a juror of the “MasterChef” program, recently admitted that suffers from a rare cancer. In the report “Dzień Dobry TVN” he and his wife talked about their daily struggles with the disease and how the life of the entire family has changed.
– The worst thing about this disease are the so-called weak days, which come out of nowhere, you don't know when and are simply so annoying that you feel dizzy – admitted Jakubiak. As he said, he usually starts the day with breakfast together with his wife, Anastazja. He prepares her a meal, even though he cannot eat with her. – Every morning is when we try to plan the rest of the day – he explained.
– At the beginning, it was very traumatic for me that I had to spend every morning tied to my stick (a special equipment that the chef uses in treatment – editor's note) and I actually couldn't leave the house for several hours. It was terribly difficult that I couldn't take my child to kindergarten, I couldn't go for a walk, I couldn't go for a coffee at a pub with my friends. But then the psychologist explained it to me, saying: man, who has so much time every day to spend time with his wife, to eat breakfast together, to cook? – he continued.
Tomasz Jakubiak's daily fight against cancerGood Morning TVN
“Outside he is very strong and he wants to show all people that he is fighting.”
His wife, Anastazja, emphasized that their life is now “completely, completely different. Before, we were away all the time,” she recalls, adding that now instead of working, they are usually in the hospital.
Tomasz Jakubiak's wife, AnastazjaGood Morning TVN
She also said in front of the camera: – He is very strong on the outside and wants to show all people that he is fighting. But when we come back home, his fragility, anxiety, fear and everything that appears is, I won't say, reflected, but he accumulates everything on me and he talks about it most with me.
– I'm carrying my luggage, Tomek's and Tomuś's, so I have to manage all these emotions – she added. she also noted that her husband uses psychological support and a psychiatrist.
“Tomek was at risk of starvation”
Jakubiak said that “his situation was already very difficult.” – It got to the point where I couldn't move, I couldn't walk from the bathroom to the bedroom – he said.
His wife recalled that the doctor informed them that if the cook did not start parenteral nutrition, “in just a moment, Tomek would simply starve to death.”
– All my ribs are exposed (…). Today, when I saw myself in the mirror, when I went to the shower, I saw my sunken chest, I saw my belly and I saw everything, I was simply… ashamed to undress in front of my wife – admitted Jakubiak.
Specialist assistance in a Warsaw clinic. “We need to support this unit with all our strength”
Tomasz Jakubiak found support in the fight against the disease in the Department of General Surgery and Clinical Nutrition at the Orłowski Hospital in Warsaw.
Head of the clinic, Ph.D. n. med. Jacek Sobocki noted: – When we prepare an intravenous diet for a patient, we must try to guess what the body needs.
A dietitian working at the facility, Filip Biernacki, explained that “the mixtures are personalized, so each bag is supposed to be different, with a different composition that is tailored to the patient's needs.” – Then they are transported to patients basically all over Poland – he said.
– We do tests, we improve the diet until it is so good that she can go home with it – added Sobocki.
The doctor also drew attention to the difficult conditions in the hospital. He emphasized that there is often a shortage of places and sometimes patients lie in the corridors.
Jakubiak therefore filed an appeal. – We really need to support this unit with all our strength and simply publicize what it looks like, because it is scandalous – he said.
The juror of the culinary program also made another appeal earlier. He turned to his fans via Instagram, asking for financial support for treatment. “The fight against the disease is a huge challenge – physical and emotional. My goal is to win this fight to continue enjoying life with my loved ones and doing what I love. Without financial support, I will not be able to cover the expensive treatment. Every donation, even the smallest one, brings me closer to health,” he wrote. He also shared a link to the collection at szczyzna-cel.pl/z/tomekjakubiak.
Main photo source: Good Morning TVN