Making the most of every day

80-year-old Central Coast local Jerry Zarb is passionate about living life to the fullest… and having fun while he’s at it! A local Community Radio presenter at Lake Macquarie FM, Jerry’s happy-go-lucky attitude has helped him get through every obstacle he’s faced throughout his life, including a prostate cancer journey which began in 2002.

Unlike many men with prostate cancer, Jerry’s diagnosis didn’t come through an abnormal PSA reading – he first realised something was wrong when he began having issues with his sexual function. After seeing a GP and being sent to a clinic to investigate further, he was told the news which changed his life in an instant.

“I was young – when I started having issues I thought hang on a minute! I explained to the doctor at the clinic what was going on and she said ‘I think you have prostate cancer’. I’m so grateful, she saved my life,” Jerry said.

“The team is fantastic, from the reception to the nurses and doctors. Their number one priority is the safety and wellbeing of their patients. To have gotten in fairly quickly and not had to be put on a waitlist or travel to Sydney made things much easier.”

For Jerry, the most difficult part of treatment involved ‘empty bowel, full bladder’ – a mantra prostate cancer patients come to know well during their treatment which ensures their radiation therapy is as accurate as possible.

“The worst part was drinking the litre of water before visiting the centre for my appointment and getting stuck in peak hour traffic, I would turn up busting to go to the bathroom! It was a pain having to do this every day Monday to Friday for six weeks, but like everything else it comes to an end and this was how we were going to beat my cancer.”