November - Men’s Health in Focus
Exciting new treatment for advanced prostate cancer being tested in Queensland by Wesley Medical Researcher
Although surgical treatment for early-stage prostate cancer is highly successful at curing the disease, treatments for later-stage prostate cancer that has spread to other organs are limited.
Wesley Medical Research investigator, Associate Professor David Wong is trialling a cutting-edge treatment for men diagnosed with prostate cancer that is at high risk of spreading throughout the body. An antibody that targets a protein on these prostate cancer cells is tagged with a radioactive label. These antibodies then attack the cancer cells, delivering the radiation directly to the tumour, leaving healthy cells unaffected. If successful, this will provide new treatment options for this common cancer.
You can support this, and other, research projects by donating https://www.wesleyresearch.org.au/donate-today/
Why I support men’s health
I was 28 when I was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
It started as a bit of pain in my testicles when I was running, but I just put it down to being caused by the exercise. It wasn’t until one weekend, the pain got so bad that I started feeling sick that I went to the hospital. Then it was game on.
The next day I saw the specialist. I was lucky that I got to see him so quickly. He explained what he’d seen in the ultrasound was a tumour and that I should call my family as soon as I could. Two days later, I had surgery to remove it. The tests came back with the tumour being a very aggressive type of cancer, so I had to do five weeks of chemotherapy. The drugs they used were so strong that they could make other people sick if they were exposed to any of my body fluids. Chemo was worse than exhausting, and the day my hair started to fall out was awful.
They gave me all these pamphlets about help lines to call to get mental health support after my cancer diagnosis, and even though I needed to talk to someone about how the diagnosis affected my mental health, I didn’t want to talk to a stranger. The best information that I received about my mental health and what to expect from my treatment was from people who had been through what I was going through. And since then, it’s been important for me to help other men through this.
I had three months off work. I wasn’t 100%, but it was important for my mental health to be back at work with my friends and colleagues and doing what I know how to do. In a weird way, I feel my diagnosis was a good thing, because it’s made me appreciate things that I never thought were important before.
Looking back, I had noticed that one testicle was bigger than the other, but I didn’t pay attention because I’ve also got one hand bigger than the other. I guess I was lucky I got the pain, otherwise things could have been much worse. The biggest thing I’ve learned is don’t make excuses, don’t ignore the signs.
If something doesn’t seem quite right, get it checked out.
Brendon: 8-year Mo-Bro, Cancer Survivor, DIDO Worker