It was early 2003 when I developed a very painful welt on my lower right shin which resulting in my being unable to sleep for most of the night. The pain was so severe that I went to the Doctor's the next day after work. The Doctor diagnosed a venous varicose problem and prescribed the inevitable antibiotics.
After a couple of weeks it seemed to settle down and then my lower legs and ankles become really swollen. The Doctor then advised me to wear compression stockings to control the swelling.
A few weeks later I woke up one morning to find that all my joints had seized up and I could hardly move. It was so bad that I had to use 2 hands to get the key in the ignition of my Ute. This time when I went back to the Doctor’s she sent me immediately to get a blood test even though it was 5:30pm. She told me to return at 8:30 the next morning for the results. The blood test result showed my platelet count had dropped to 5,000 per microliter of blood (normal about 150,000 – 450,000). My Doctor gave me some sort of “magic pill” and sent me for another blood test that day. The results showed that the pill had stabilised me somewhat. All my inflammation markers were off the chart so what was I suffering from? My Doctor still wasn’t sure so I spent the next month having blood tests every few day, plus I also had a bone marrow test.
Eventually I was diagnosed with Immunothrombocytopenia (ITP) which causes the immune system to identify the blood platelets as foreign bodies and therefore attacks them. I cannot praise my Doctor highly enough for her prompt and efficient treatment. Looking back now I think it was a pretty close call.
The treatment was a high dose of steroids (Prednisone) gradually decreasing as I improved and I was on this treatment for about 18 months. I continued to have problems over the following months, diarrhoea for 3 weeks, a dry hacking cough which tore my throat out for 2 weeks, coughed up phlegm for 4 years, Golden Staff also numerous minor ailments. You name it I had it!
By this time it was November my Doctor advised me to have a Prostate test. The way my luck was running of course the test came up with a PSA count of 28. My next trip was to a urologist. He gave me “a finger up the bum” examination and told me it looked like I had cancer and I would have to have a biopsy to confirm it. I was completely uninformed as to the procedure so I naively reported at the allotted time to have it done. I was put in a cot with stainless steel bars wearing the usual surgical gown. I wasn’t sure how this biopsy would be done.
Boy, was I in for a shock!!!!!!!
They were to take 6 samples from my prostate and I think they used a NAIL GUN!!!!!! Everytime they took a sample I think I bent one of the stainless steel bars on the cot. After recovering in the recovery room I left and went straight to the Pub and had about 4 schooners which helped my recovery no end. That is an experience I could have done without and I will NEVER have it again!!!!!!
Back to the Urologist for the results. Every sample was cancerous, so my whole prostate was affected. My Gleeson score was 7 which was moderate to high according to the booklet they gave me. I have talked to a lot of blokes with Prostate cancer about this Gleeson score and it differs so much that it seems to have more relevance to cricket than it does to cancer. There doesn’t seem to be any logic in it at all. The urologist proceeded to tell me the only treatment that he could offer me was radiotherapy. When I asked him the odds of a cure he told me 50-50. When I asked him what would happen if the treatment didn’t work he said I would die, but wouldn’t set a time frame.
Very re-assuring to someone just diagnosed with cancer, but anyone who has been touched by cancer would not be surprised by this attitude. I also asked if in his opinion the ITP would have had anything to do with my getting cancer.
In his opinion it was just a coincidence. Anyone who knows anything about how the human body works knows how important the immune system is in preventing and combating disease. So his voicing that opinion is amazing considering he is one of the top specialists on the coast.
My next trip was to the Radiologist at Nambour who told me that the treatment would take 7 weeks with the usual 50-50 chance of a cure. Plus there could be side effects like impotence, incontinence, bowel problems and bladder problems. I would be put on Androcur, a drug to shrink the prostate, for 3 months prior to having radiotherapy.
The side effects from this drug were sore and enlarged breasts, hot flushes, nausea and tiredness all of which I had in abundance. I now really empathised with women who experience all these symptoms during their lifetime. I investigated the use of radiotherapy on Prostate cancer and was not impressed with the results,
Over the next 3 months I researched alternative ways of treating cancer. One book was by Ron Galately “How to treat Prostate cancer and Win” which I decided would be the way to go. Also about this time I joined Cansurvive and found the meeting very supportive and the different speakers very informative.
The following 18 months consisted of different Naturopaths, tens of thousands of dollars for various remedies and pills. Plus a diet of organic foods which was also extremely expensive. I then heard that Ron Galately had died of cancer which didn’t boost my confidence in the regimes I was following.
I then heard of Darryl Jones who was supposedly having a great deal of success with resistance exercises, B17 and a no sugar diet. For 2˝ years I followed this regime and found it invigorating and very beneficial to my health. I increased my weight by 22 kilos during this period.
I also had another visit to my Urologist who didn’t seem too pleased that I had knocked back the radiotherapy and he informed me that the alternate therapy I was doing was a waste of time. Again he told me I was going to die. So after a few choice words we parted company for the 2nd and last time never to return.
With all the money I had spent and all the alternate treatments I had followed my PSA count was still going up so I was looking for a more successful solution.
Early in 2008 Shirley Pearton came to Cansurvive and told us about her treatment with Rod Kemp, a Naturopath from Bundaberg, and his Scalar Energy Machine. I was pretty impressed so I made an appointment to see him in Caboolture.
He felt it would be beneficial for me to spend a week or two in Bundaberg and have treatment.
February/March 2008 my sister and her husband arrived from England for a visit. During the time they were here I was having real problems urinating so one morning after they had left I said to my wife Anne that I needed to go to Nambour Hospital emergency and get something done. They inserted a catheter and I lost 4 litres of liquid, what a relief!!!!!!!!! I was then admitted to have a procedure called T.U.R.P which is a rebore of the prostate. I have had no more problems since I had this done. Mind you it was like passing razorblades in the beginning!!!!
It was getting towards the end of 2008 before I got around to making the arrangements to spend the two weeks in Bundaberg and have the treatment he recommended. I drove up to Bundaberg on a Tuesday and had my first treatment that day, then I had 2 treatment a day for the next three days. I went home for the week-end then went back the next week for another 8 sessions. I found Rod easy to get along with plus he has a good sense of humour. I found the treatments completely non-invasive and quite relaxing. At the end of the treatments I asked Rod what he had treated beside the prostate. He said that he had treated all the cells in my body which I thought was very comprehensive. He told me he had treated the Vagus Nerve (which I had never heard of) and I had instant relief an could really feel the difference over my whole body. I have had 3 follow-up treatments since and I feel that my Prostate cancer has been dealt with.
I am healthier now than I have been for at least 25 years.
Before I finish I would like to thank all the people who have supported me through my journey. Cansurvive and all the friends I have made there. Not forgetting my darling wife who has given me 100% support through all of this. Lifted me when I was down and kicked me when I needed it.
For anyone who has been recently diagnosed with cancer I would like to say that
“There is a light at the end of the tunnel”.