Kevin Broome was a fit and healthy 68-year-old when a chance meeting on holiday in Vanuatu, prompted him to get a check-up which ultimately may have saved his life.
“I was at a party and there was a guy there talking about having prostate cancer,” Mr Broome explains.
“I came away from that, jogging my memory and when I got home I thought I should make an appointment with the doctor.”
The day before he was due back at work, he made an appointment with a GP who picked up straight away that something wasn’t right. After progressing to a PSA blood test, MRI and a prostate biopsy, Mr Broome was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
“I had no symptoms, no problems at all, no family history,” he said. “This was just pure chance.”
The father of two, step-father to three, and grandfather of many, had a robotic prostatectomy in mid-2018.
He’s generally doing well and continues to receive support from CALHN Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse Sophie Otto (pictured with Kevin).
Prostate Cancer Foundation Australia’s (PCFA) Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurses play a vital role in guiding patients through the process providing reliable information about diagnosis, treatment options such as surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy, as well as care to help cope with the side-effects of treatment and beyond.
For the retired council ranger who spent most of his life in Whanganui in New Zealand, it’s been a much-needed support through his journey.
“I just took the attitude it is what it is. As long as people are helping you and are around you, going into a dark place is not going to solve anything.”
During September, Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, a team of PCFA Prostate Cancer Specialist Cancer Nurses are taking part in the Long Run, along with members of the community raising funds for a national telehealth service. This will provide a free Australia wide confidential service for men dealing with prostate cancer, partners, families, community members and health care professionals.
A second CALHN Prostate Cancer Nurse is set to start at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital before the end of the year.
