Adam Claxton’s Journey from a 100-Day Cough to Overcoming a Terminal Prognosis
In the latest episode of Cure Leukaemia’s Let’s Talk Blood Cancer: The Patients’ Podcast, host Adam Joyce sits down with Adam Claxton, a man whose resilience has been tested in ways few can imagine.
In September 2024, Adam was a healthy 41-year-old living his life. By July 2025, he was being told he had just two weeks to live. This is a story of a 100-day cough, a life-saving brother, and the sheer power of a “mental fitness” mindset.
The “100-Day Cough” That Changed Everything
For over three months, Adam Claxton struggled with a persistent cough. On September 1, 2024, he finally sought help via 111, expecting a simple round of antibiotics for a chest infection. Instead, a routine blood test led to a life-altering phone call just minutes after leaving the hospital: “You need to go home, pack a bag, and come back as quickly as you can.”
Within 24 hours, Adam was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML). While the word “leukaemia” was terrifying, Adam’s background in martial arts immediately kicked in. When his consultant described the cancer as “acute and aggressive,” Adam’s internal response was: “I’ve got to be even more aggressive.”.
Adam’s journey saw a beacon of hope on Christmas Eve 2024. After his first round of treatment, his brother was identified as a perfect match for a stem cell transplant. Adam describes the process not as a surgery, but as a “system override”.
His brother, affectionately nicknamed “Crabman” by the clinic after his hands cramped during the donation process, provided the cells that would eventually save Adam’s life. Reflecting on spending Christmas in a hospital bed, Adam’s perspective remained unwavering: “It was one Christmas versus the rest of my life.”.
By April 2025, Adam was in remission and back in the gym. However, the “rug was pulled” again in July when a routine check-up revealed his white blood cell count had skyrocketed.
The news was devastating. After two different treatments failed to stabilise him, doctors delivered the unthinkable: if the next option didn’t work, he had only two weeks to live.
“The whole world just went silent,” Adam recalls. “My body went ‘Not having that.’ My mind refused to accept it… I decide when I go, not the disease.”
Throughout the darkest moments, Adam leaned heavily on “mental fitness.” He practiced daily gratitude—even in a neutropenic hospital room—and used meditation to “speak” to his cancer.
He emphasises that maintaining a routine, such as showering and writing down gratitudes every morning, was vital to his survival. “Even when you’re in the worst situation, there’s still something good – whether that’s the breath you just took or the fact that you can move your body.”.
Family and the Challenge of Explaining Illness
Adam also opens up about the “logistical stress” his fiancee, Joe, faced at home while he was fighting for his life. Balancing school runs, a broken fridge, and three children (aged 3, 8, and 11) while their father was an hour away in the hospital was a monumental task.
This experience inspired Adam to write a children’s book to help other parents navigate the difficult conversation of explaining cancer to young children.
Looking Forward
As of November 12, 2025, Adam is back in remission. While he continues to receive “top-up” donor lymphocyte infusions from his brother’s cells, he refuses to live in “patient mode.”
Adam is now dedicated to using his journey to lead others through their “dark moments” via his social media community, Claxton Coaching.
Watch the full, incredibly moving episode below: