Josh Lenartowicz Speaks on Brain Tumor Recovery in Interview with Dennis James
Australian bodybuilding veteran Josh Lenartowicz recently spoke about brain tumor recovery. In an interview with Dennis James, Lenartowicz touched on the subject as well as a host of things that have kept him from competing in recent years.
Health is wealth, health is everything. There’s a reason why so many sayings about health and well being. It’s because it’s the truth. If an individual doesn’t have a clean bill of health than being a rich athlete or a celebrity really doesn’t matter all the much. When you’re afflicted with a life threatening diagnosis it can be a truly terrifying circumstance. It’s exactly what Josh Lenartowicz went through when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Luckily for the Australian bodybuilder he was able to find out his predicament in time and was able to combat it and come through to the other side.
The last few years have been interesting for Josh Lenartowicz. The veteran bodybuilder hasn’t been on stage for some time leading to a great deal of speculation. Many wondered what happened to the veteran and soon received some terrible news. Like his northern before him who suffered a brain tumor at age 18, it was Josh’s turn to go through the terrifying ordeal.
But rather than pretending all was well, Josh Lenartowicz chose to confront his circumstances head on. In a recent podcast interview with Dennis James, Lenartowicz discussed his predicament with the brain tumor. The Australian bodybuilder spoke on his initial discovery of the tumor.
“Man, I got back from, I won the Bigman contest in Spain. My wife was pregnant. It was in Spain. Tried pale for the first time, life is great,” said Lenartowicz. “Europe went to Body Power for a guest appearance, then coming home for Mr. Olympia. I started getting these weird headaches, and I was like ‘I never get headaches what’s going on here?’ I went to the doctor, and said ‘hey man, I’m getting these headaches and I never get headaches’. He said take some aspirin, and I said I have a little lump here (points to head). And my brother, when he was 18, he had this tumor. I’m like ‘maybe…nah, you’re okay. Take the Asprin’. I went home, couldn’t sleep.”
During his prep for the 2019 Olympia Josh Lenartowicz noticed things were quite right. He was suffering inexplicable headaches. Rather than sit back, Lenartowicz took matters into his own hands.
“Went back the next day, and said I needed a scan. I said, ‘I want this scan for my head’,” said Lenartowicz. “He said, ‘alright’. I’m a hypochondriac man, I think if I wasn’t, bad things would have happened. You and I know bodybuilding. Everybody is going to die some way. The goal in life isn’t to live the longest, but at the same time, you need to do things to protect your health and your family and stuff. So, doing things the right way is important.”
The clip below shows a bit of the conversation between Josh Lenartowicz and Dennis James.
Indeed Josh Lenartowicz going to the doctor and getting a proper diagnosis likely saved his life. It’s good to see that the Australian bodybuilder was able to handle the situation correctly and take the steps necessary to heal.
It’s also great to learn that Josh Lenartowicz isn’t retired and his ready to get back to work. To see the full interview click here.
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News and Editorial Writer at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.