Ted reflects on his cancer treatment journey with positivity and humour

Icon Writers / 02 Apr, 2025

Meet Ted Emery, a well-known Australian film and television director and producer. Throughout his illustrious career, Ted worked on some of the country’s biggest comedy shows including Fast Forward, Full Frontal and Kath and Kim. 

So it’s no surprise that when Ted – one of the first patients to be treated at the new Icon Cancer Centre in Noosa – was asked to share his story, he put a humorous spin on outlining his cancer journey says Icon Cancer Centre Noosa Site Manager, Ben Archard. 

“He even returned to the centre after his treatment had finished to play Santa, handing out presents to our team members,” says Ben.  

Now it’s over to Ted:  

“I am 78 years old. I returned from the Vietnam War with a duty free stereo and kidney stones. The duty free stereo lasted 4 years, the kidney stones 60. 

My urologist is Dr Stuart Collins. Stuart hates cancer cells. So does my radiation oncologist at Icon Cancer Centre Noosa, Dr Marcel Knesl. They are like Laurel and Hardy, Bill and Ben. or more still Penn and Teller, as they weave their magic in pursuit of cancer cells. 

Welcome to Icon Cancer Centre Noosa. 

Marcel, who is the boss and likes cointreau and mountain biking, is determined to build a big prostate like the big pineapple. It’s to challenge Stuart, who has the world’s largest collection of cancerous prostates preserved in vegemite jars on display, next to a personally autographed sweater from Jonathan Thurston in his men’s shed. 

Marcel will tell you if any cancer has done a runner. He designs your treatment, monitors your progress and shows you the pictures of his latest mountain bike. 

The Iconettes (reception team) will guide you to the oncology nurses, who come from the order of ‘The Sisters of No Chance of Repentance.’ They would rather give you a comforting cuddle than a pamphlet that attempts to decipher the incomprehensible. You are then seamlessly escorted to the ‘mice in the basement’ as I called them (radiologists). They are kept down there behind lead doors, not for personal hygiene reasons, but cancer buster reasons. 

The cancer buster resembles an art instillation comprising a two door fridge/freezer stuck to a clothes dryer stuck to a reverse cycle air conditioner driven by a matching designer toilet bowl and cistern. This ungainly daliesque device drifts about you, like it’s Apollo 11 and you are tranquillity base. Its tech specs are whirrrrrrrr zzzzzzzzum pause click brrrrrrrrrrrr pause mmmmmmm nothing. Next thing you hear is “All done!” from Mighty, Mickey or Mini. 

The entire Icon team is attuned. They are courteous and instinctive. They adapt to the concerned, distressed, confused, information seekers, negatives, positives and much more.  

 

My treatment is over. I had 33 doses of radiation at ten minutes each. I also had an oestrogen injection. The after effect of that being, I act and react more like my wife of 43 years – and I thought PTSD was a brain rattler. 

I went into Icon with a PSA number that would have seen me banned from driving for five years if it had been a breathalyser number. I am now 0.01. 

I am back in six months for a PSA review with Marcel. We will talk about cointreau and mountain biking. And by then he should have the preliminary drawings and specs for the big prostate. That should draw the eye of the passer by and guide the patient to a true icon in the war against cancer, whether boob, prostate or any other bits.” 

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