Christophe Bariou opens up about his cancer journey for the first time
Businessman Christophe Bariou has shared his cancer journey for the first time.
In a lengthy Instagram post shared on Tuesday, June 6, the French-Filipino boyfriend of Nadine Lustre opened up about his cancer diagnosis and the changes that have taken place in his life since then.
Sharing pictures of his journey, Christophe wrote: "This was something I never thought I’d share at all on social media. Maybe I never did because I preferred not to be seen as the victim or to use this illness to appeal for pity. And while I was successfully overcoming it, I saw many around me losing their lives trying to, so it didn’t feel right to talk about myself."
Christophe, who owns the luxury resort Maison Bukana in Siargao, continued that it was three years ago when he first found out about his illness and "was told I only had a few weeks left to live."
"I experienced the darkest sensation of fear, which is something I thought I had already known because it wasn’t the first time I was in a life-threatening situation," Christophe added. "But this was different. The enemy was invisible and deep inside my own body – a body that I never doubted before, at the age of 27."
Christophe said that at first, he was "angry and frustrated at life" and questioned why it was happening to him.
"I thought, I’ll never have kids, my own family, or finish what I started in Siargao. I will never get my first barrel surfing. Why is this happening to me? Why me? I felt so full of life and suddenly finding out I had a couple [of] weeks left to live was devastating… to say the least," he wrote.
He admitted that he thought about staying put in Siargao and that he was close not getting treated as there was not much hope left in him.
"A couple [of] days later, while trying my best to accept my fate between fear, anxiety, anger, and frustration, I learned from other doctors that there was a chance to heal but I had to drop everything, leave immediately, and go back to France to a specialized hospital," he said, adding that the doctors found that he has a "very rare" type of lymphoma and that there was no statistics yet on the survival rate. However, Christophe said that the doctors were still "hopeful."
The businessman added that he is getting treatment from a leading cancer research center in Europe and that all of it was "completely free"—"thanks to the rights the French fought for."
"It just makes me think how unfair it can be in other countries when something as bad as this hits," he lamented.
Christophe continued that his cancer is in full remission after two months of intense chemotherapy and immunotherapy. He also shared that despite the side effects of chemotherapy, he learned that his goals never changed and that he is determined to live life to the fullest.
"I wanted to get back on my feet as fast as possible and continue everything I started, but with more intention and even more motivation," he shared.
He enlightened his followers to live in the moment with this learning: "When it comes to advocacies, it was a brutal reminder that life is fleeting. We do not have the luxury to wander and be mindless. I want to be mindful and conscious [of] every action. The best I can do is to lessen the suffering and cruelty around me and promote kindness and compassion towards all forms of life – human and non-human. Our lives are way too precious to be wasted. In the same breath, other lives are too sacred to be robbed from them, too," Christophe continued.
"I have no pretension of changing the world or saying anything revolutionary but simply hoping some readers will realize they should not wait for life to hit them hard to realize all of this.
"I can make mistakes, I can make bad decisions but one thing I never want to have again is regrets. Live and let live," he reminded his friends and followers.
The French-Filipino businessman ended his post by thanking Nadine, his family, friends, and everyone who supported him during these tough times.
Christophe first met Nadine in 2021 in Siargao, where the actress is residing. They became Instagram official in January 2022.
While the couple is very low-key when it comes to their relationship, they still share pictures of their trips and island life once in a while.