Marathon-running TikTok exec reveals ‘aggressive’ stage four cancer — and the warning signs he missed

A fit and healthy social media executive who was diagnosed with cancer after completing a half marathon has revealed the three major red flags he missed.

Bondi-based Govind Sandhu, the 38-year-old head of Global Music Partnerships at TikTok Australia, was diagnosed with stage four Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma after pulling up rough from the Sydney Half Marathon in early May.

Mr Sandhu, who has been an executive with TikTok for three years, took to Instagram on Monday to recount his experience and reveal the red flags that finally got him checked up.

“Up until I finished the Sydney Half Marathon, I did not have any official symptoms,” he told his followers on social media.

“I ran the half-marathon along with being away a weekend prior in a remote part of Australia running trails with stage four Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma running wild through my system.”

Despite finding the marathon and trail running more challenging than usual, Mr Sandhu attributed it to normal physical exertion.

After completing the marathon, he suffered from flu-like symptoms, a knee, neck and shoulder pain, and “wild night sweats”, causing him to wake up multiple times each night.

The alarming symptoms eventually prompted him to visit his GP immediately.

“They are the three things that made me go direct to the GP the next day,” Mr Sandhu said.

His astuteness led to a series of medical probes, including blood tests, ultrasounds, PET and CT scans, and tissue biopsies, which ultimately confirmed the advanced stage of his cancer.

Mr Sandhu turned to his platform to urge others to take similar proactive steps regarding their health.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” he said.

“I would add every six-month rotation to go and get your blood work done just to make sure your levels are all in check.

“If you want to take it one step further, talk to a doctor about getting an ultrasound of your body done just to make sure there are no sinister things going on.”

In an earlier Instagram video announcing the diagnosis, Mr Sandhu announced his devastation.

“I’m 38 years old, and I’ve been diagnosed with stage four Non-Hodgkins lymphoma – What the hell? – this wasn’t exactly in my five-year plan,” he said.

“I was absolutely shocked and devastated and was asking myself, “why me?”

He described his rapid decline in health after the marathon and how he initially dismissed swelling as due to a running injury.

Mr Sandhu said he briefly brushed other symptoms, instead blaming the flu or Covid.

“(I had a) swollen knee, although I thought that’s because my knee was injured from a stack from when I was in Hobart running some trails,” he said.

“But (also) just really bad body aches and sweats and everything that would make you think it was the flu or Covid. And over a four-week period, I just deteriorated.”

Mr Sandhu said his cancer is “aggressive”, but he remains hopeful and determined to fight it.

Further examinations revealed abnormalities near his pancreas and on his heart, but doctors are optimistic about his heart’s condition.

“But it looks like, fingers crossed, the heart is okay,” he noted.

Sandhu is set to begin chemotherapy soon.

“It will be aggressive because the cancer is aggressive,” he explained.

Mr Sandhu pleaded to others to seek medical advice at the first sign of unusual symptoms.

“Better safe than sorry, and I hope that this helps,” he said.

Followers thanked Mr Sandhu for his public health announcement while sending their regards.

“As a nurse working part-time doing health education and cancer prevention on an individual basis to clients, I feel your message will be listened to, and in that way you are a greater advocate than health professionals,” one wrote.

“Great share mate. Super valuable intel. Thank your mate for normalizing and sharing all of this info,” wrote another.

Mr Sandhu’s social media feed portray a fitness orientated life with posts of distance running, cross fit, hiking and trail running frequent.