Ice cubes gave Wirral man energy boost in cancer treatment

Dave Crosby, from Bromborough, was told by his specialist that he had advanced prostate cancer in August 2019 that had spread to his back and neck and probably had no more than 18 months left to live.

Despite receiving the devastating prognosis, the 68-year-old management consultant, who was awarded an MBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours List for his work as chair of Hugh Baird College, agreed to embark on an intense programme of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

But before starting the daunting treatment, Dave's son Adam suggested to his dad that he should try taking a special immune-boosting ice cube that had been suggested to him by someone he had met while working away.

Speaking exclusively to the Globe, Dave said: "Adam told me about a guy he had met while working away in Southampton. He was a mechanical engineer but was also a chef who had come up with this product that helps with your immune system.

"At first I wasn't sure because I didn't want to do anything that would compromise my treatment. So I left it for a few weeks and then thought, there's only fruits and other natural things mixed in it. It can't be any harm?"

Revival 7, the immune boosting liquid that Dave Crosby takes in an ice cube everyday

The product, called Revival 7, was created by chef Danny McDonnell and contains seven raw ingredients - Tumeric, Ginseng, Arrowfoot, Ginger, Pineapple, Soursop and Orange.

Following instruction, Dave poured the liquid into ice cube bags and put them in the freezer, taking one a day every day.

Dave had been warned that when he started is chemotherapy programme, the effects were cumulative and each session would take longer to recover from than the last.

But to his complete surprise, as the treatment progressed over an 18 week period, he was actually finding his recovery period to be shortening rather then lengthening, baffling his consultant.

Dave said: "The first round of chemo, it took be about 11 days to recover. But round two took me less days to recover then round three even less. By round four I was getting it down to about five days after being infused with the stuff. It's unbelievable. I shouldn't be here now."

After completing chemotherapy, Dave was given a three week break before embarking on six weeks of radiotherapy.

As part of the investigation and treatment for prostate cancer, Dave's Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) levels were measured regularly.

A safe PSA level for someone of Dave's age would be below 5 ng/ml. At the time of diagnosis in August 2019, Dave's had rocketed to a frightening 103 ng/ml.

But having made truly incredible improvements across his treatment plan - which also included hormone injections - when Dave's PSA level was measured this month, it was as low as 0.31 ng/ml - continuing a remarkable recovery.

The turnaround has been so successful that Dave's consultant now only wants to see him every six months to monitor his PSA level.

Dave's wife Moe, said: "I can't believe that I'm talking to the same consultant. At the start everything was so awful and downbeat, now it's like talking to a different person."

Before starting his treatment, Dave accepts that one thing that was massively in his favour was that he was fit for his age, up until that point still going on regular six mile runs.

Dave Crosby has a more positive outlook now than he ever imagined 18 months ago

But he believes that a combination of a high level of medical care combined, with the significant boost he received from the ice cubes, including mentally, has meant that he is still around today.

"There's no doubt in my mind the benefits that the Rivival ice cubes gave me helped to give me the extra boost I needed to get through the treatment."

Dave hopes that by sharing his story he can hopefully act as a role model for other people who are travelling down a similar path to himself.

He was able to do the same himself when he discovered that TV presenter Bill Turnbull had gone through a similar challenge.

Dave said: "When I was first diagnosed, the urologist said to me "go home and read about Bill Turnbull". I read about him and it sounded like he'd been through an absolute nightmare.

"My daughter Joanne wrote to him, which he acknowledged, but the big thing from that was that gave me the inspiration to go through with the treatment, because I knew he'd come out the other side.

"He was a role model for me a that was good for me, because I was able to latch onto that.

"There's a way to go for me. I'm on a journey. But when the consultant said me "I'll see you in six months", I thought there you go. That will do for me."