Rick's Story

Meet Rick. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer at just 47 and had a radical prostatectomy last year.

“I’m one of the lucky ones,” he says, “I had a proactive GP who started testing me at 40.

“When my PSA started rising, I didn’t hesitate in seeing a urologist - an MRI and biopsy found a Gleason Grade 6 prostate cancer.

“My specialist at the time recommended Active Surveillance with yearly biopsies and PSA monitoring, and earlier this year my PSA hit the high sixes and they found a nodule, suggesting it was growing.

“I went in for surgery 10 days later I got the phone call I was hoping for – they got all of it, with no trace of the cancer in surrounding tissue or lymph nodes.

“Sharing that news with my wife Linda and sons Mitchel and Alexander was a great moment after three years of worrying. Their love and strength carried me through and every day I battled it was for them.

“My message for other men out there is that we only get one shot at life, and we don’t want this disease to take us, so get checked.

“And if you need support, you’ve got it – from me and other men who are in this fight with us.”

Rick signed up for Dry July last year to help encourage more men to learn about their prostate cancer risks and get tested.


Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia

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