Help Murray raise money

“You have cancer.” Probably the most terrifying words you can hear. Even if you are prepared. And I was prepared. My GP had concerns after my annual prostate exam. It was probably nothing. And for 2 years, it was nothing right up until the day we got my first biopsy results. I have cancer.

Kathy and I went straight to the nurse navigator at Island Prostate Centre. She talked to us about treatment options and non-treatment options. Thanks to her guidance, and with approval of my urologist, I got 4 additional years on Active Surveillance. We had a lot of adventure in those 4 years. For me, the highlight was fulfilling a lifelong dream to cycle across Canada. Mile 0 in Victoria, BC to Mile 0 in Kathy’s hometown, St. John’s, NL.

Then my cancer became more aggressive. The way my urologist explained it, the cancer cells no longer looked like prostate cells, which means they could live anywhere in my body. For me, this was the worst news. I didn’t want to live with the side effects of treatment. I worried that incontinence would limit our adventures. 

But my Dad died from metastatic prostate cancer and I clearly didn’t want that.

Island Prostate Centre was there for us again. We talked about treatment options. They connected me with men who had recently been treated so that I could talk to them about what they went through and about my fears.

For better or worse, we couldn’t get OR time during the summer so we packed as much adventure into last summer as we could. A week before surgery, I was in Ontario for a ride called the Granit Anvil 1200. As the name suggests, it was 1200 km. But that wasn’t the hard part. The hard part was the 4-day time limit. 

My recovery from treatment was very fast. I was back at work in 3 weeks, running after 6 and doing 200 km rides after 12.

I had to learn to manage incontinence. And, of course, Island Prostate Centre was there for me again. I was immediately enrolled in their pelvic floor exercises course. I think they had me signed up before I even knew I needed it!

I’m 8 months post-surgery. My continence is as good as it was before treatment. Kathy and I are still traveling and having adventures and I am still doing ultra-distance cycling. I’ve just completed my qualifying rides for another 1200 km event this summer called Paris-Brest-Paris. 8000 riders from around the world will meet in France to race against that same 4-day time limit. I’ll be one of them. But, most importantly, my 6-month PSA was undetectable. 

I hope it’s clear that Island Prostate Centre was not just a source of information for us. We can find that on the Internet. It’s people. It’s people that took the time to understand our unique situation. It’s people that understood how afraid I was. And after listening, they were there with the right guidance at the right time. 

On Father’s Day, I will be in Scotland where Kathy will be fulfilling her long-time dream to golf at St. Andrews. But on Father’s Day, I will lace up my runners and run for Island Prostate Centre. I will do it because they were there for me when I needed them. I will do it in memory of my Dad. I will do it because I can. I will do it because cancer is not going to stop me.

Island Prostate Centre was there for us when we needed it the most. It’s there and it continues to be there because people like you support it. 

You were there for us. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Murray Tough

Cancer Survivor