WITH the second Mount Gambier Gold Cup for the calendar year, today has a major focus around horse racing in the Limestone Coast.
But while it is only a one-day meeting this time around, some of the traditional events are still taking place.
That includes the prostate and breast cancer awareness luncheon which took place yesterday.
Guest speaker was decorated AFL player and coach David Parkin OAM.
A less-than-ideal trip over by air caused some uneasiness for Parkin, with the wild weather experienced in the region providing plenty of bumps along the way, but that soon dissipated when he was met at the airport by an “old friend”.
At one stage in his life Parkin owned an MG B motor vehicle, which was sold to a doctor who later moved to Mount Gambier.
The car was then snapped up by the late Allan Scott AO and remains in the family to this day, with Ray Scott keeping the car in pristine condition.
Ray’s son-in-law Bill Xanthos had arranged to pick Parkin up from the airport in the car, to provide a pleasant experience on his trip over.
“Ray said we would see if we could get him acquainted with an old friend,” Xanthos said.
While leaving the terminal Parkin was embroiled in a conversation with Richard Harry relating to his foundation – the Male Bag Foundation – which raises awareness and funds for prostate cancer.
But as he exited the building he immediately stopped and looked across the carpark.
“That’s my old car over there,” he said.
Suddenly the conversation shifted.
“Being in Mount Gambier I knew the car was here somewhere and I have seen it out at Ray’s place on previous visits,” Parkin said.
“I got to know Ray pretty well – Stephen Van Schaik is a good friend of mine and Barney McCusker – they are all great mates of mine and we get together regularly.
“Ray took me for a drive in it once before.
“It was part of my life for quite a few years and I had a lot of fun in it.”
Parkin said the car was an unusual colour, with no overdrive making it a bit different to most.
He said it was pleasing to see it in such good condition, but expected nothing less from Ray Scott.
“It is good to see it in good condition, but Ray is into cars, so it has a good home,” he said.
“I am looking forward to the drive.”
Apart from the pleasantries, Parkin was in town for a different reason – one he takes seriously.
Having been diagnosed with prostate cancer, he knows the importance of awareness and was in town to share that experience and other aspects of the disease.
“I was diagnosed about eight or nine years ago now,” he said.
“I had a family history of prostate cancer and that is half the problem.
“I cannot believe the amount of blokes who do not know their genetic history.
“They may have lost their father for instance and still do not know what he died of.
“I spend a lot of time in rural and regional Australia and there is a big number of blokes who I have run into who have lost their dads, or their uncle and still do not know what they actually died of.”
Parkin said there was a clear indication the disease was genetically based, with his grandfather, father and now himself all having been diagnosed.
“My son at 40 years old is doing active surveillance now on his PSA,” he said.
“There is great debate about have you got it, have you not got it and how you diagnose it.
“At this point the only thing available to most people is your blood test – it is a simple blood test that might give you an indication as to whether you might have it, but there is no certainty.”
Parkin said his foundation was now actively involved in providing biopsy units for regional hospitals to help men seeking diagnoses.
He said the next decision revolved around treatment and noted the inroads women had made regarding breast cancer.
“We are a long way behind the women,” he said.
“The women diagnose it well, they have done the research, know what treatments work best, but more men are going to die in the next 12 months from prostate cancer than women from breast cancer.
“Women have been brilliant in what they have done and I am just one of many groups around Australia who are trying to alert men to be vigilant about it.”
Parkin said his role in spreading awareness was important in what can be a personal journey for men.
“John Newman was very good to me when I was first diagnosed,” he said.
“He rang me up and walked me through the first 12 months.
“I did not know John Newman from a bar of soap, but he rang me every few weeks to see how I was going.
“I was in Bendigo (Wednesday night) with six different groups that were meeting to raise some money on our ride next year.
“In our audience of 42 there were eight males who have been down the prostate cancer pathway.
“They were still alive and well because someone had helped them identify it, someone had made them aware, someone gave them the right treatment or operation and they are living relatively normal lives.”
Parkin said one other area that needed to be addressed was the amount of nurses available to men undergoing treatment.
“The McGrath Foundation, what a brilliant job they have done for women,” he said.
“It is an ongoing battle of continual education and making people aware.”
Parkin added a final sombre message.
“Part of this is also to remind blokes they have an obligation, if not to themselves, to their wives, their family and their kids to do something about it,” he said.
