Community & Business
6 December, 2025
A prostate cancer journey
Battling cancer is a difficult journey but the outcome is worth the pain, says PETER VALENTINE who recently overcame prostate cancer and wants to let others know to seek help as early as possible.
I knew that I faced a reasonably high risk for prostate cancer as my father had died from it. Regular blood tests for the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) were done each year during annual health assessment by my GP from about 2010 (aged about 66).
There was a break however, with some national advice being to not test males over 75 due to false positives. I was also suffering from Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS) which meant frequent urination and weak flow plus poor control.
One of my medical friends described this as the “prostate parade” in which we older men staggered out of bed several times a night to urinate. I had assumed this was just normal aging for men.
I chatted with other male friends of similar age and discovered quite a few were having treatment for prostate cancer and various useful internet resources provided by medical authorities and support groups were identified.
All proved helpful and it was clear that early identification of this cancer gave the best chance for treatment. I discussed the next steps with my GP and had a blood test that revealed a higher level of PSA. Enough to suggest I needed further assessment.
That led to referral to a specialist urologist in Cairns and then a series of progressive diagnostic tests (physical examination, ultrasound, MRI, surgical biopsy and PET scan) that confirmed I did have prostate cancer. Unfortunately for me the cancer had metastasized from the prostate into lymph nodes and an adjacent seminal vesicle.
This meant that treatment options for me excluded surgery (which many of my friends had been able to have) and was going to require radiation treatment. I was referred to a radiation oncologist in Cairns (at the ICON Centre near the Cairns Hospital) and with that term “oncologist” it became crystal clear that I did indeed have advanced cancer.
I was familiar with oncologists as I had been closely involved with our daughter going through treatment for early age breast cancer a decade before.
I was immediately relieved when no mention was made of chemotherapy as I had seen the impacts that can have on a patient. But radiation also sounded scary so I spent time reading and then talking with my oncologist.
The first meeting with my specialist was very reassuring and the modern external beam radiation treatment has an outstanding record. And new techniques of preparation and delivery are being implemented every year with benefits for patient longevity (the acid test of cancer).
I was started on an androgen (hormone) treatment program that was targeting the prostate cancer cells in my body as well as supplementary medication that had a great record of improved outcomes.
Within two months of diagnosis I started radiation, a course of 39 treatments over eight weeks involving daily radiation in Cairns, with weekends being treatment free for healthy cells to recover.
The outstanding support from the government through our local Atherton Hospital meant the costs of travel to Cairns, and then the accommodation costs in Cairns, were subsidised and for my wife Val and I that enabled us to rent a unit in Cairns so we could look after ourselves during the treatment.
Some weekends we returned home to Malanda, but mostly we chose to stay in Cairns to rest between the treatments.
My radiation treatment was a very positive element of my journey. The process involved precise preparation for the radiation to ensure ideal conditions and two key elements were a full bladder and an empty rectum.
Each patient was provided with treatment times and we turned up about 20 minutes before our time, after trying to achieve the necessary pre-conditions. Most days there might be 5-6 of us waiting in the preparation area, mostly men but some women also.
For the blokes, we were the “bladder-fillers”, trying hard to ensure bladders were just full enough without having to take off the pressure (by peeing). A somewhat delicate balancing act. Too soon and you were sent back to fill the bladder more, too late and you had to drop out and relieve yourself before getting back into the bladder-filling exercise! It took me a few days to get the hang of it.
Through all of this, the nursing staff were wonderful. Supportive and in good cheer. Extremely professional. In addition, one got to know the other “bladder-fillers” and I was surprised to find others from the Tablelands region, from Julatten, from Atherton, from Ravenshoe and even from my own home town in Malanda.
In the waiting area we shared something of our lives and our history, becoming closer through these experiences.
When your body felt ready you would indicate to the nurses and you would get the call to head into the radiation room. There you would lie on the treatment bench and the nurses would then adjust your body according to your own personal body map, trousers lowered and shirt up.
The external alignment markers and the internal gold markers were used by the computer for targeting. Then the bench would slide into the machine and your head would come out the other side with the critical target area correctly placed within the donut!
Preliminary scans would confirm bladder and rectum in good condition and then the radiation treatment would begin ... lasting only a few minutes. Once completed, the machine turns off and you are slid out and congratulated on job well done. Dressing again it is farewell until next time.
Every week or so, time would be spent with a nurse to review progress and for support with any reactions and advice for body care. Every two or three weeks, you would have an appointment with the radiation oncologist, again for a review of progress and discussion about the process.
These discussions proved valuable for me as I learned more about what was happening and with a chance to ask questions and to seek advice. It was also very welcoming to be greeted by name on arrival and to have a friendly chat with the nurses each day.
At the end of my 39 days, with limited side effects, I was happy to be finished. At the ICON Centre in the hallway is a brass bell on the wall and once we have finished our allotted radiation span, we got to ring the bell! For all of us it was perhaps a fine relief to know this part of the journey, the most serious treatment for most of us, was over.
From here on it was up to our bodies to do their work, helped along by whatever additional treatment was provided. In my case, the Androgen Deprivation Treatment would continue and my wife and I judged that all the evidence pointed to this being a valuable adjunct to treat the cancer.
While such treatment does have effects other than depriving the cancer of its capacity to grow, in most cases reduced libido and erectile dysfunction, these are considered potentially reversable. In my case, these seemed worthwhile sacrifices to fight off the cancer.
After the first six months, my blood tests showed undetectable PSA and undetectable testosterone, an excellent outcome. Minor side effects included occasional hot flushes (but short lived) and a slight weight increase.
When the second six months period also showed zero PSA and testosterone, and all other conditions normal, I was quite happy and was very open to continuing the treatment. I am now looking forward to my next blood test (in January 2026) with the hope of continued success.
In between I am enjoying life very well; do not dwell on my condition and simply enjoy every moment alive. I feel very fortunate in my love for nature and my joy of interacting with nature.
Here in the Wet Tropics ,we have many magnificent natural environments to enjoy. This keeps me from thinking of the many negative elements of the world and at least gives me a chance to act for better outcomes, locally and nationally.
My own cancer is the last thing on my mind!
For anyone who might have any of the potential conditions to undertake prostate cancer assessment, I would urge you to take the tests and follow the guidance. The earlier the better, but even if the cancer has got started, treatment today is extremely positive.
I am personally very grateful for the wonderful support available to us when we have to confront this particular cancer.
