A Remarkable Journey Through Cancer and Recovery
Australia’s most decorated motorsport champion, Marcos Ambrose, has shared his inspiring story of battling what was initially diagnosed as terminal bowel cancer. The former V8 Supercars and NASCAR driver, now 48, revealed that his ordeal began unexpectedly while digging a trench in his Tasmanian backyard.
“I was digging a trench in my backyard and I had a sore shoulder,” he recalled. “I thought, ‘It doesn’t quite feel right’, but I didn’t think much of it.”
Within 12 hours of visiting a doctor for what he assumed was a muscle strain, Ambrose was told he had stage four colorectal cancer. Doctors discovered the shoulder pain was referred pain from secondary cancer in his liver.
“They called it terminal at the time and so we just went straight into panic mode,” Ambrose said.
He began an immediate and aggressive treatment plan in Launceston, undergoing what he described as ‘heavy-duty chemotherapy.’ For 12 months, he endured harsh cycles that drained his body but gave him a sliver of hope.
“I did 12 months of heavy-duty chemo, as much as I could handle,” he said. “It went longer and deeper than I ever thought I could go.”
The chemotherapy worked better than doctors expected. It slowed the disease’s progression and opened a window for surgery to remove the primary tumour. But Ambrose’s battle was far from over – the cancer had spread too extensively within his liver for a standard resection. His only option was a full liver transplant.
Then, if he got through that, he went back on the chemo again and it opened this window for a trial organ transplant for people like him. The process was complicated, with strict eligibility criteria based on age, treatment response, and the absence of further metastasis.
Ambrose was accepted onto a transplant list at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. For two months, he waited on standby near the facility, within an hour’s reach in case a donor organ became available.
“They called about 4pm and said, ‘We think we’ve got one,’ he said. “Then they rang and said ‘No, we want you to come in by 8pm’. So I had about four hours notice.”
The surgery was high-risk and experimental, making him only the third person in Australia to undergo such a procedure.
“My life was saved by the grace of somebody else,” Ambrose said.
The operation was a success. Ambrose spent 14 days in hospital and was discharged within a month.
“You could sit here one-year post the risky, major operation and a diagnosis of a terrible cancer and to be here where we are today, it’s just a miracle,” he said.
His recovery has been steady but remains ongoing. It doesn’t stop from the operation, you have got to keep managing your body. I’m on a lifelong program now.
Now living in Melbourne, Ambrose continues regular check-ups and treatment at the Austin Hospital.
“I’m still recovering. It’s going to be a while, but … I bounced really well,” he said.
He remains cautious, acknowledging the journey is far from complete.
“Hopefully after a three-year period … you kind of know ultimately where you’re at.”
Ambrose said he had never undergone a bowel test before, being diagnosed at 46.
“I was too young. The screening starts at 50,” he said.
He now urges Australians to get regular checkups and blood tests.
“Go get checked. It’s not even about bowel cancer check, just go see your doctor, check everything. I had no idea.”
His story has also become a passionate plea for organ donation.
“If there’s one thing you can do, it’s donations,” he said. “That was the bit that I really want to express – donating, ticking the box, donate life – it has probably saved my life.”
Ambrose’s racing career is legendary in both Australia and the United States. He made his V8 Supercars debut in 2001, claiming Rookie of the Year honours, before winning back-to-back championships in 2003 and 2004. Across 147 starts, he claimed 28 wins and became one of Ford’s most successful drivers.
After leaving Supercars in 2005, Ambrose pursued NASCAR in the U.S., competing in 227 races and earning two Cup Series victories at Watkins Glen in 2011 and 2012 – the first Australian to do so.
In 2014, at the peak of his American career, Ambrose walked away from a $4 million NASCAR contract to return home.
“I want them to grow up as Australians,” he said at the time, referring to his daughters Tabitha and Adelaide.
