Interviewer: Can you please tell me a little bit about your cancer journey? How old were you at the time of diagnosis, where you were in life, and what was happening with your family?

Tim Weale: My diagnosis was in November 2023. It was for stage four prostate cancer, so quite advanced. I had probably been experiencing cancer for a long time without knowing or understanding.

There’s no history of cancer of any type in my family. My grandmothers lived into their late 90s and one is still 100. Longevity runs in our family. I had never considered having cancer.

At the time, I was a father of two, Clancy and Maeve, who are now eight and 10.

My wife, Bridget and I had always planned a trip of a lifetime. We love the outdoors and adventurous holidays, so we planned to go around Australia. We did that in 2023.

Before the trip, I had noticed a change in the consistency of my ejaculate, but I thought it was normal due to age, as Dr. Google suggested. I also noticed it felt like there was always a little urine left after I had been to the toilet. Again, Dr. Google said it could be normal. There was always the fine print that it could be cancer, but I was fit, healthy, in my mid-40s, a happy father, had a healthy family history and a successful corporate role. I was having a great life.

Then, on the trip, I noticed a couple of pains. First, in my hip and leg, but I thought I slept on a rock. We had done two days of rough four-wheel driving, so I thought maybe I was just getting older. A couple of days later, it dissipated. Then, I felt a pain in my shoulder. It felt like a tight, sore muscle. My wife Bridget checked it, but didn’t find much, just a little muscle knot. A couple of days later, it disappeared. Some nights, I took pain relief to sleep. We kept going on the trip.

Back home, I had blood in my ejaculate, which was definitely not normal. I went to my GP, who did an ultrasound, finding my prostate a little bigger than normal. He gave me antibiotics for a possible infection. He also did a blood test for prostate cancer, even though he explained that he wouldn’t normally test people under 50. My results came back with a PSA of 64.6; the average is between 0-2.5 for my age. He repeated the test and just 12 days later the PSA had reached 82.9. At its peak, my PSA was 154. I was referred to a urologist, had an MRI, which showed my prostate and other places in the vicinity were cancerous. A biopsy confirmed it. Further scans revealed stage four prostate cancer that had spread to my hip, pelvic bones, tailbone, pubic bone, spine, ribs, scapula and two spots in my lung. The pains on the trip were the cancer damaging my bones.

I was diagnosed just before Christmas 2023 so telling everyone about my stage four diagnosis was tough. We also went on a regular New Year’s trip to Red Rock with friends and it was really hard to think that I might not see another New Year there. I had thoughts, but I was determined to be back.

Interviewer: Did you have fatigue at all?

Tim Weale: Yes, I did. I remember one afternoon at Canarvon, I needed to lie down at 2 pm. I thought I was just tired from the holiday.

Interviewer: So, what treatments did you undergo? What treatments are you on now?

Tim Weale: After my diagnosis, I went straight onto hormone treatment and I was booked for radiation on January 10th. Then, an X-ray showed a fracture in my hip due to the cancer, so I went straight into radiation to target that. After radiation, I went straight onto chemotherapy and started on a drug called Darlutamide. It’s now on the PBS, which is great because before, it was very expensive.

I worked the whole time because I wanted to keep my mind busy and wanted to keep things as normal as possible for my family. Fitness was important. I lost a lot of weight, which I thought was from the trip, but retrospectively it was probably the cancer. I started a weights program. There was a study that showed if you are active during chemotherapy you tolerated the side effects better. It made sense. If you’re active, your blood’s pumping and the chemo gets mixed around. I went to the gym, did a session, then went for chemo and then walked home, about a five-kilometre walk. I didn’t have tingling in my fingers and toes. I had fatigue and other side effects, but I still worked every day.

Now I’m still continuing on Darlutamide, two tablets morning and night, every day for life. Every three months, I have an injection and blood tests to check my PSA. Annually, I have a follow-up scan. My PSA was 62, then 82, and then 154. Now, it’s 0.01. I’ve responded really well. I’m feeling really good. I still go to the gym because the medication is trying to stop muscle growth. I have zero testosterone, so my body doesn’t naturally want to grow muscle.

I’ve finished my corporate job and am now a stay-at-home husband, which frees me up to raise awareness and fundraise for ‘below the belt’ cancers, spend more time with my kids and allow Bridget to focus on her career.

Interviewer: Who was in your support network?

Tim Weale: Telling my mum and dad was definitely the hardest. However, they were like a rock, as were all our friends, strong for me and ready for a conversation whenever I needed it. Bridget, my wife, had it hard. Everyone focuses on the person with cancer, but the partner has a different and very difficult challenge. She received support through Chris O’Brian’s Life House, which was great.

Our neighbours are great friends too, “the village” as we call it, all rallied around and were fantastic. Also, Bridget’s mum came down to help after my diagnosis, which was amazing.

Interviewer: What have been the biggest takeaways from this experience? Has it changed the way you look at life?

Tim Weale: I feel like raising money for cancer research is more important than raising funds for shareholders. Working through it gave me that perspective. I kept working, so many people didn’t know I had cancer.

I’ve made a choice and I’m loving it. I call it a micro-retirement. I’ll do more stuff, like tell my story and raise awareness. I want to talk about my experience. I love spending more time with my kids. We’ve shifted and changed and it’s good.

I always wanted to fish and it took getting stage four cancer for Bridget to agree for me to get a boat, so I am enjoying that.

I didn’t want to be the stereotype of a cancer patient. I wanted to keep living and keep working and keep active as much as I could. I think that’s a big takeaway. Living more in the moment and spending all the time I possibly can with the kids. I always wanted to spend more time with them and now I am.

Interviewer: What would you say to someone with a serious cancer diagnosis?

Tim Weale: I call it my tripod. One leg is the medical team. Trust them, they’re experts. The second leg is maintaining activity and fitness, no matter how you feel. The third leg is bringing your best self, approaching everything with a positive, optimistic outlook. Turn up and show up and do it. You’re fighting for your life, you only get one chance.