Hunks-Jucci rejoices: “I am a cancer-free man!”

Jucci is recovering from cancer surgery and is waiting to be admitted to a hip operation. Mikko Huisko

Jucci Hellström, known as the Hunks dancer, is a relieved man.

Now it seems that the rectal cancer diagnosed last September has been removed.

In the fall, Jucci went through a tough cycle of chemoradiation. It included both 28 radiotherapy sessions and cytostats taken in tablet form. The treatment reduced the size of the tumor, which was supposed to be operated on at the beginning of the year.

However, there was a setback regarding the surgery: Jucci fell ill with corona just days before the operation:

– I knew that the queues were long. I was afraid that the surgery would be postponed by months, but fortunately it was only three weeks. Those weeks were actually quite welcome. I got more time to prepare.

– When the surgery came, my mind was calm, although of course I was nervous, says Jucci.

A small ressukka

It was no small operation. The man lay on the operating table for hours.

– My buttocks are still tender from the surgical compression. I guess I was also too tall for the operating table, my neck also got stuck, Jucci recalls.

According to Jucci, the hospital week after the operation was the worst part of the cancer journey.

– I have tried to maintain a positive spirit, but then dark thoughts took over.

– Just before the operation, the surgeon told me all the risks of the operation, from death to infections and lifelong impotence. After the surgery, with hard painkillers, tubes and tubes, these are the only things running through my head, Jucci says.

He did not receive accurate information about his situation for several days.

– They just said that the surgery went as planned.

– But in all my mommies, I became really insecure and already suspected that they were trying to kill me. The nasogastric tube was forcibly pulled, I vomited, screamed and cried, the man recalls.

In retrospect, he says he was in the hospital like a little rascal.

5,000 steps

Jucci went home as soon as it was possible.

Recovery started slowly. The pain was in my toes, I couldn’t sit and even lying down felt awkward.

Jucci has advanced osteoarthritis in both of his hips, but he has not yet been able to have an artificial joint surgery due to cancer. At the moment, the hips are bothering the operated cancer more.

Now, five weeks after the surgery, Jucci could already sit, but he still can’t be on his buttocks.

– I jump by climbing stairs and walking. I’m trying to get 5,000 steps a day and strength in my legs. However, my blood levels are still so bad that I feel weak and my heart rate immediately skyrockets, Jucci says.

He hopes to have hip surgery next fall.

We’re still running

Considering the hip operation, it’s really good that the cancerous tumor, which had shrunk during the fall treatments, was cut out. Jucci had prepared for another round of chemoradiotherapy after the operation, but it is not needed now.

– I am a cancer-free man!

– The pathologist’s opinion was the best I could get at this point! Yes, there was crying, Jucci recalls the call with the good news.

Still, the fear of cancer recurrence struck next.

Of course, Jucci will be closely monitored in the future.

– I am also going to pay even more attention to what I eat. I’m especially wary of additives.

– My appetite has returned, but now I weigh less than a hundred kilos for the first time since leaving the army. I don’t feel like looking in the mirror at all. After more than thirty years of training, losing muscle is sad, says Jucci.

But of course he can also be happy about small progress:

– Today I was able to bend down so that I could put water in the cats’ cup without spilling it.

Jucci is not yet able to return to his work as a personal trainer.

Now the man only focuses on getting himself in shape. One day he still plans to run. The spikes have already been bought.