His family is overjoyed.

The day before Pete Campbell turned 41 last month, he got the best gift of all – finding out he was cancer free!

The MasterChef: Back to Win contestant had Hodgkin lymphoma (a type of cancer which originates in the lymphatic system) for a year and a half without knowing.

His diagnosis came midway through production of the Network 10 series last year, forcing Pete to leave the competition immediately and urgently begin treatment which, for him, included chemotherapy.

As he welcomes New Idea into his family’s home on Sydney’s Northern Beaches for a catch-up, Pete shares how his life changed in an instant.
Wife Alana and daughters Scout and Lux are happy that Pete is now cancer free. (Photo: Phillip Castleton).
His wife of nearly 20 years, Alana, 39, dedicated her time to looking after Pete, including being at all his appointments and treatments.

Pete tells us she was “incredible”.

“She picked up the load of essentially borderline being a single parent, working and keeping the girls on track with school and everything like that,” he says.
MasterChef fan favourite Pete Campbell had his family by his side throughout his treatment journey. (Photo: Instagram).
Their daughters, Scout, 12, and Lux, 9, were also “amazing”, the proud father adds.

“Alana and I kept it very light,” he explains.

“Nothing really changed for them.I explained to them how everything is going to look. And, I told them when I become and look unwell, it just means that treatment’s working. So they were prepared.”
Along with being cancer free, MasterChef star Pete Campbell is celebrating his 20th wedding anniversary with his wife Alana in October. (Photo: Phillip Castleton).
Pete says that during his treatment, he always tried to stay positive.

“[That] wasn’t too difficult in the early stages. Then the treatment accumulates, and it definitely wears you down towards the end,” he confesses.

Doubts did creep in once Pete had completed his treatment and was waiting for his scan results.

He says he had “very real fears”.
Pete Campbell has celebrated being cancer free with his family after MasterChef. (Photo: Phillip Castleton).
“I started to dwell on the statistics of it, and thought there’s no reason why I would not be one of the unlucky ones. That was pretty brutal,” he says.

“I think [we] expected when chemo finished that it would be a big relief. And, it was a relief to not have to go back … By the end, I emotionally felt like I couldn’t take any more of it.”

While he “braced” himself for the worst, it was good news – the treatments had worked and Pete was cancer free.

He says the relief was “unlike anything” he’s experienced before.

“That kind of news falls into the category of finding out that you’re having a baby. It’s very unique to hear,” he says.
Pete Campbell said he loved meeting Gordon Ramsay before he had to sadly leave the show. (Photo: Network 10).
In terms of how he celebrated, it was all very impromptu.

“Everyone that I cared about turned up to a work function I had. It was unplanned, and then it happened to be my birthday the next day, and we were there until two in the morning,” he reveals.

Looking forward, Pete is loving being back at work and is opening a restaurant with a friend in Port Kembla, NSW, this spring.

“I’m in a bit of a life honeymoon period at the moment, and I really don’t want to ever lose that. I always enjoyed work, but it’s even more enjoyable now because things that bothered me before are so insignificant,” he says with a big smile.