During Prostate Cancer Awareness month this September all men should be aware of what they can do to prevent the disease.
When he retired from the High Court of Australia in 2009, The Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG was Australia’s longest-serving judge. Longevity is important to Justice Kirby, who has continued to serve with great vigour in retirement.
His father, Donald, lived until he was 96 – and according to Kirby he should have lived longer.
At the age of 95, Donald had just renewed his driver’s licence when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
“Several times my father told me, ‘I have overcome many scrapes in my life, and I will beat this one’, but he did not,” Kirby reflects.
Every year, 1.3 million men worldwide are diagnosed with prostate cancer. Notably, Australia has one of the highest incidence rates internationally, with one in every seven Australian men likely to be diagnosed during their lifetime.
Kirby says the disease left his father depressed and angry – he had been independent and active in retirement and had enjoyed a life rich with family and friends.
