What happened when my Oncologist said to me "You Have Cancer".

"That can't be right, my test levels are within the acceptable rating" I said to my oncologist. He explained the tests were just an indication, but the scans and biopsies identified malignant tumours. "We can start you off with 8 weeks of radiation and 95% of people will go into remission following that."

So I did the radiation and they told me, "Sorry you are in the 5% that it doesn't help. But don't worry, we have other treatments." I'll spare you the details but I do want to share a few things with you.

I'm writing this article for two reasons:

1. Catching cancer early saves lives. I'm still here and for the last 4 months I have been in remission. I still tire easily, and have other after effects like lactose and fructose intolerance and I am not producing cortisol, my resistance is low and my arms and feet have many BCC's, so I have to keep them out of the sun this summer, but my passion for what I do keeps me not only coping with my condition, and most of the time not even noticing it until I get home and relax. For a long time the treatment left me with chronic fatigue that was so frustrating that I felt like hitting my head against the wall. I picked up and smashed a chair instead, ripping the carpet in my music room. I wrote a song about it and what ensued. I'm still able to write this because they found my tumours early.
2. I am planning on doing Relay For Life North Auckland 2018. I love Relay For Life. It runs right through the night and this year (2017) I didn't have the energy to do the whole 18 hour event. I went home for a sleep at about 11PM and joined the march again at about 6AM. This year with your support I want to do the whole event again, like I did before I had cancer, when I was walking for friends and family including my late father-in-law. I would love you to either join our team 'Early Birds' or ask you to make a donation towards this cause. You can do either of those via this link.

Relay For Life is a celebration of the people we know and care about who have or have had cancer, it is a support mechanism for them, their friends and family and a gamified (you know I love gamification right?) way of raising funds for the cancer society and for cancer research. The Cancer Society is a charity and gets no funds from government. The majority of people who run the event are volunteers and give their time for free. It is a massive undertaking and an event that is repeated up and down the country each year.

They provide free accommodation for people who have to travel for treatment. In Auckland Domain Lodge serves this purpose and while I was at Mercy Hospital I met a number of people who were from out of Auckland and stayed there during the week when they needed treatment. It is a wonderful facility.

I had my first experience of visiting a cancer psychologist there when I realised I couldn't deal with it on my own. That's a big step for a Kiwi bloke I can tell you. All my visits were free and paid for by your donations.

They have lots of other services for patients and families. My late father-in-law was President of the Lost Chord Club (that's a club that helps people who have laryngectomies and have to learn to talk again without a throat box, and I had been there many times supporting him, but never for a minute thought I would get cancer myself.

Anyway, they need our help and with cancer being the biggest killer in NZ, many people can catch it early if they get checked out early. As part of my campaign for Relay For Life, I encouraged people I know to get checked early, even if it's just for a baseline and some certainty. So far 15 people got checked because of me and all were clear. I feel that is my greatest achievement because pushing those people to get checked may one day save one of their lives. IMHO if you don't want a digital test, that's the one everyone jokes about, you can insist on only doing a blood test. It was the changes in the blood test result that alerted us. Instead of the PSA levels going up and down, they were going up and up.

"You are now officially uninsurable"

That's what my insurance broker Tom Fox of Canopy Group told me. That struck a chord with me because now I had a dilemma. What if told people to get tested and then they found they had cancer and no insurance. One of my dearest friends has had to sell her home in Auckland this year and move to a country town because her insurer only covered 60% of the costs of her treatment. She has to have chemo every 3 weeks for the rest of her life.Yesterday I also heard of a woman who was denied insurance because they claimed she must have already had cancer before she bought the policy. How could someone who hasn't been diagnosed, know they have cancer?

If you need a broker, I strongly recommend Tom Fox. He went out of his way for me and found a clause in my income protection policy, which I bought way before I met him, he doesn't administer or generate any income from it, but he searched through it and found a cancer clause that helped pay the excess over the 80% (for some things) that my insurance company Southern Cross pays for my many many scans, radiation and other treatments.

So please, get yourself decent cancer cover before you get tested. It's an expensive condition that one in 8 Kiwis get and the single biggest cause of death for New Zealanders. Many treatments are not covered by national health and the waiting lists can be long despite what politicians and health boards say. I have Southern Cross with 80% cover up to a certain value which has been great, but it doesn't cover everything. I found out after I got cancer, i.e. too late, that they also have a range of low cost cancer specific policies which can be add-ons to your normal policy. Knowing what I know now I'd be putting a few dollars a month into one of those. They are not expensive. Cancer is.

Then get yourself tested. For guys, you don't need a digital examination unless there is a problem. If you don't want to do it, just ask for a blood test.

So for me, If I seem focused on getting results in my work, trying to make the country a better place, it's because I have come face to face with mortality and I want to achieve things in life. I have a passion for my work and helping reduce traffic congestion, reduce stress and improve productivity on our roads, whilst improving safety for motorists.

I want to help my friends (and their families as well as total strangers) who have cancer and am writing an EP about the experiences I have had on my journey, together with music video. I'm going to need help every step of the way with musicians (amongst others I need a banjo picker for one song, a church choir for another, production, studio engineering and music videos. Any profits if there are any will go to the Cancer Society. I feel that through my songwriting skills and musicianship, I can help people understand the personal journey I and my friends and family are working through. I have written 3 and a half of the songs, but that's the easier part.

I often look at people who have been to hell and back and have used their experience for good. Motivating them into a project that helps other people.

That's what I want to do. It's a bit of pay it forward and a bit of pay it back. When I talk to people who have newly discovered they have cancer, my experience has been helpful to them and I suspect that my story whether presented in person or in my music concept album will help them and their families too.

So if you know how to project manage an album, want to help with the skills and resources I don't have, I'd welcome your support. I don't even know where to start with fundraising, whether I should go to NZ on Air or Give a Little, I know nothing about music video production and my home studio is only good for demo's. I don't know about saving lives, but I'm convinced I can help people gain some positives from my experience.

I have helped people with their businesses, with free advice and consultancy, I've chaired community education groups, sports clubs, the Wireless and Broadband Forum and other business organisations over the years, giving up my time for free, now I'm hoping I will get some support back.

If you can and would like to help, I would be very grateful and all I can promise in return is my gratitude and credit recognition on the album. After all, it's for the Cancer Society. If you can't help, at least go and get a prostate blood test or a mammogram or follow up on those unexplained symptoms that don't seem to go away.

Meanwhile, today is the day of my mother-in-law's funeral, so I won't be starting on this project util after the weekend. Thanks so much for reading this and in anticipation of your support. If you know someone who would be happy to donate their time and experience, please point them in my direction. You can make contact directly, or through this Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1819305945017261/