In 2024 at the age of 51 I was lucky enough to be diagnosed with cancer. Whilst the word "lucky" is not something most people would say about cancer, at the time of my diagnosis I would have agreed, although it seems appropriate for me now that I have had time to process the situation. Even though it may not be the case in the future (who knows), for now I have concluded that I was lucky? Why am I lucky??

Firstly, other than having four BCC skin cancers removed, I have lived for 50 years mostly cancer-free. Sadly for many that is not the case. Now that my brain is finely tuned to anything cancer-related I am almost daily hearing about people experiencing the dreaded cancer diagnosis, many are much younger than me, often with much more serious stages and much less positive outcomes. It gives me a dreaded feeling inside to even imagine what those people and their families must be feeling at the time - and even then, what I imagine they are feeling would only be the tip of the iceberg as to how they are really feeling. I have had many important people in my life diagnosed with cancer, and sadly many of them (not all) passed away well before their time.

• My dad passed at 57 with oesophageal cancer (very heavy smoker and heavy alcohol drinker).

• My uncle passed away before his time with throat cancer (Smoker and ?? drinker).

• My daughter’s father (ex-father-in-law) passed away well before his time to cancer. (Non-Smoker, social drinker)

• My best mate’s dad passed from throat cancer well before his time (Non-smoker, social drinker - worked in a hazardous environment).

• And to end on a more positive note, my niece was diagnosed with Leukaemia at only a few years old, but after years of treatment, she beat it and is now a healthy teenager.

Secondly, my diagnosis was thyroid cancer, and in the words of my doctor, "It is one of the best cancers to get behind skin cancer, and is the most treatable". Whilst at the time that didn't offer me too much comfort I can now see it as a blessing - with the obvious being that more than 95% of people go on to live for many more years. At the time of writing this I have had two surgeries to do a complete thyroidectomy (total removal of the thyroid) and will need to be on medication to stay alive for the remainder of my life, and I am weeks away from undergoing radioactive iodine treatment to hopefully destroy any remaining nasty cells that could still remain. So still working through my treatment plan. If that is the last of my cancer experience - then there is little doubt that I am very lucky!!!

Thirdly, it has given me a huge kick in the backside. It has reminded me of how important it is to treat my body and life - both physically and psychologically - with more care and attention. Hopefully by doing those things, I can avoid any future 'avoidable' health concerns, whilst flourishing and living a good life. It has also reminded me to cherish those whom I love dearly and support them in taking positive steps to ensure their life is also a long flourishing one.

And finally, it has reminded me:

• how vulnerable and mortal we all are,

• how quickly our life can end,

• how important it is to be grateful for this life we have,

• to be more grateful and caring for the people around us,

• and to ensure we do our very best to no only make our own life great but also to help others do the same.

I spent over a decade in the Australian Army with deployments to East Timor, Iraq, and Afghanistan and discharged without a PTSD diagnosis or any serious health concerns - but now, even after an all-clear PET/CT scan of my entire body (which does not pick up all cancers and is not 100% absolute), every little ache or weird feeling in my body fires huge warning bells to my brain asking the question, could this be a cancer flare up? To be totally honest, I would much rather be told I was going to spend the next 10 years of my life in a war zone than be told I have terminal cancer with only months or years to live - at least there is some sense of control over my wellbeing in a war zone, even though that may not be true. So, whilst I feel very lucky and grateful I still struggle daily with the rumination in my mind over questions like: will it return, is another flare-up just around the corner and if so how can I detect it early to ensure the best outcome, how can I best prevent any future flare-ups, etc.

It is so easy to look back over my life and cherry pick all the bad moments, the challenges I had to face, the obstacles I had to get over and wish I had a better life - or even blame those things for why I am not at some imaginary point in life, be it more wealthy, more successful, whatever!!! But the reality is, in spite of those things, I have had an awesome life thus far, and hopefully I have many more awesome years ahead. The fact that I was even born and had a chance to live life at all is a miracle in itself.

I am not saying we should dismiss the challenges we have, or have had in our lives - they are all very real, but we also get to choose how we move forward, and if we allow them to define the life we have in the future - however long that may be. Are we going to allow those things to hold us back, or are we going to use them as knowledge, life lessons, experiences, and rocket fuel that we can use to drive our life forward??? Because we do not know how long our life is going to last, and tomorrow or next year is not guaranteed. And whilst that line sounds like something stolen from a self-help book and used as a throw-away line - the reason why it is used over and over again is because it’s 100% undeniably TRUE..

Looking back over my life it reminds me of a book I read in school many years ago called "A Fortunate Life", an autobiography about an Australian Serviceman, Albert Facey, who despite his many hardships and challenges in his life still considered his life to be very fortunate.

Buy the book, A Fortunate Life by Albert Facey - HERE.

To finish up, I want to publicly thank my wife, Katrina, for being my rock throughout this challenge in my life.

Words cannot express how much I appreciate you..