The Beat Goes On: South Africa Mourns As DJ Mark Pilgrim Dies From Cancer
Celebrated South African radio DJ Mark Pilgrim dies after losing his long battle with cancer. He was 53.
Pilgrim had been in a protracted battle with stage four lung cancer.
Hot 102.7FM managing director Lloyd Madurai confirmed in a statement posted on Facebook:
“It was with great sadness that I share this news. Our hero and brother, and much-loved radio personality, Mark Pilgrim, lost his battle with cancer this morning at 10:45.
He fought valiantly to the very end. Mark passed peacefully with his fiancé Adrienne at home. They were together for his last breath. The family thank you for being part of his journey. For loving him and for celebrating him and supporting him always.”
In June 2022, Pilgrim revealed online that he was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer three months earlier in March. He said the cancerous cells had spread to his femur (thigh bone), the base of his spine and lymph nodes.
After the diagnosis, he opened a YouTube channel to document his path to recovery, which he has sadly failed to see through.
Mark Pilgrim had been fighting cancer for many decades. TimesLIVE reports that he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1988.
The radio and television personality then went for surgery and chemotherapy for months before he was declared in remission. Remission is a decrease in or disappearance of signs and symptoms of cancer.
In 2022, the cancer cells returned and attacked Pilgrim aggressively. After some chemo sessions, Pilgrim revealed in July and August last year that the tumours had significantly reduced, with some wholly gone, News24 reports.
Sad Scenes As Mark Pilgrim, “The Famous Voice Behind First Big Brother Africa”, Shares Images In Hospital Battling Stage 4 Cancer
In September, his health deteriorated after his lungs collapsed. Pilgrim was in the intensive care unit (ICU) in the following months as medical doctors tried to attend to the lungs. He was discharged just before Christmas.
Last month, fake rumours spread on social media that Pilgrim had died, and this was after a man with a similar name and surname had passed on.
Mark Pilgrim is survived by his two daughters, Tayla-Jean, 12 and Alyssa, 10
