Recovery Through Friendship - The Story of Doug and Emily
Doug Griffiths and Emily Lahey are two friends who have supported each other through the toughest of times and on International Friendship Day we wanted to highlight two individuals who truly embody the Invictus Spirit.
In 2023, Doug was diagnosed with Stage IV lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma, a very rare non-hodgkin lymphoma variant. Complicating his cancer, Doug was also diagnosed with AL amyloidosis as a complication from his cancer diagnosis. Neither condition is curable abd since 2023 he has gone through 8 months of chemotherapy, been hospitalised for 6 weeks and undergone 8 blood transfusions and 2 surgeries.
Sport has always played a big part in Doug's life, he's an avid triathlete, having competed in 15 Ironman races and has represented Australia at international sports events including the Warrior Games in 2024.
"Sport offers me the opportunity to regain some normality in my life. Cancer has turned my life upside down. My cancer journey is far from over - it is not going away - but being able to use sport to build up my confidence, build my fitness to combat the cancer and help my mental health has been transformational," Doug said.
Selected to be a part of Team Australia for the Warrior Games 2024 and Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025, Doug connected with a teammate who is going through a similar and unfortunate series of health events.
Emily Lahey, is also using sport on her personal journey of recovery after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis.
Her cancer affects her sinuses, skull and brain. She has lost the vision in her left eye due to the tumours' position and it has greatly affected her mental health.
With this form of cancer, patients are typically given a life expectancy of 6 to 9 months but Emily hasn't let it affect her life goals and she has been steadily been going through her 'Living List' including walking the Three Capes Track in Southern Tasmania, buying a house, swimming with whale sharks, and getting married to name but a few of her incredible achievements since being faced with her diagnosis.
Together they have supported each other as members of the sports recovery programmes offered by the Australian Defence Force and Invictus Australia.
Doug and Emily are grateful to all of their fellow team members but have found tremendous support from each other as individuals going through terminal cancer treatments.
"Together we have been able to support each other through the fear of competing at the games, the anxiety of waiting for test results, Drs appointments, and the unknown of cancer. Our cancers are different, but we are both burdened with vary rare types," Doug said.
Doug said that connecting with Emily was a "blessing" as their shared journey of navigating cancer together had made their experience at the Invictus Games all the more special.
"We celebrated our small wins, cried together when simply showing up was a challenge and boarding the plane to the games was our gold medal. To a large extent we don’t know what our future holds, we just know that it is important to live each day, support each other as friends with love and compassion and be there for each other when needed."
They described their experience at the Invictus Games as "priceless" and while their diagnosis may be their terminal, nothing is going to stop them from enjoying life to the fullest no matter the time they have left.