Torquay SLSC president hopes to start conversations to save others

A RESPECTED member of the Torquay Surf Life Saving Club and cancer survivor has been named a community champion as part of a new program launched this month by Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA).

Torquay SLSC president Julian Sweeney said he waq proud to be a community voice for prostate cancer. and hoped his experience with the deadly disease can help start conversations between men at all ages.

“Public awareness of prostate cancer saves lives through early detection, which is why I decided to join the Life Force program,” Mr Sweeney said.

“I am one of the men diagnosed every 22 minutes in Australia and my own experience with the disease has motivated me to speak out about men’s health.

“We can all be touched by trauma in different sorts of ways, but we can all share our experiences and support each other by talking and getting together.”

Sweeney was diagnosed with prostate cancer four days before Christmas last year at the age of 54, stemming from a sleepless night on October 18, 2022.

The Bells Beach resident went to the doctor suffering from vertigo, where he was then recommended to get a blood test for the first time in two years.

Mr Sweeney’s Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) had risen to 4.91 from a baseline of 1.41 taken in 2013, which quickly jumped again to 5.6.

“I went in for a robotic prostatectomy soon after, on Wednesday, January 11,” Mr Sweeney said.

“I got to go home on Friday the 13th, sporting six wounds in my abdomen and a catheter strapped to my leg.

“The first three days after the catheter was removed I felt like I was doing really well, but the following week was a reality check as my recovery had slowed, and I had to take a breath and realise time does really heal and I’m not Superman.

“I’ve just received my six-month follow up results last Friday which came back 0.0, so it means I’m now officially cancer-free.”

“My advice to other men is it’s the words you don’t want to hear that can sometimes save your life, so please book yourself in for a PSA blood test today.”

Mr Sweeney is also going alcohol-free for the whole of 2023, not just July, raising funds for PCFA through the Dry July Foundation.

To help Mr Sweeney reach his fundraising goal, head to dryjuly.com/users/julian-sweeney

For prostate cancer information and support, head to pcfa.org.au