Blues’ star Sam Docherty loving life on and off the field
Four years ago, Carlton star Sam Docherty received a shock cancer diagnosis. Now, he reveals what keeps him moving forward.
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A month out from the start of the new AFL season Carlton star Sam Docherty has opened up about his plans for the future, on and off the field.
Almost four years on from his shock testicular cancer diagnosis, the universally liked Docherty says his focus is firmly on fatherhood, family and footy.
“Life’s pretty good at the moment,” says the Blue’s champ affectionately dubbed ‘Doc’.
“My little girl (Ruby) has just turned one and is starting to walk; I’m finding fatherhood an enjoyable part of life.”
As to whether he and wife Nat will be adding to their family, Docherty says, “in all honesty, we don’t know”.
Treatment for his testicular cancer meant the young couple underwent IVF and Ruby was born last January.
The childhood sweethearts had been married nine months when they received Docherty’s diagnosis in late 2020.
“Nat and I have been together since we were about 14 so she has been on every bump in my journey; she is an unbelievable support,” he said.
Together they are looking forward to 2024 with Docherty saying his pre-season training is going well and there isn’t the “chaos” of previous years.
For the All-Australian defender 2020 ended with the devastating news he had stage 4 testicular cancer. He was treated at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in 2021 and then, in 2022, he gave up the prized Carlton co-captaincy to focus on his health when the cancer returned.
Docherty loved that role; one he had shared with his great mate Patrick Cripps since 2019 and a dream since he was drafted by the AFL in 2011.
But cancer came “out of the blue” and changed his priorities.
“What I think is success has completely changed,” Docherty, 30, said. “When I got drafted it was about playing a lot of games and winning premierships. Now it is about the impact you can have on others.”
He says he is technically cancer free now.
“I still go back (to the Peter Mac) for checks and blood tests, but everything is going fine and I know I am incredibly lucky to be in such great hands.”
He says his cancer journey and the impact it has had on others has also made him a more grounded and rounded person.
Liam Contarin is a 23-year-old Blues fan and apprentice electrician who was diagnosed with testicular cancer about the same time.
“In a way it helped that Sam was going through the same cancer treatment,” he said. “I play local football, so it helped just to know you can overcome this and get back to a normal life.”
Mr Contarin, who is also being treated at the Peter Mac, says after what Docherty has gone through to where he is now it inspired him. “It shows me that this doesn’t stop my life.”
To hear this, Docherty says, is humbling.
“You don’t know what difference you are making in the world at times, and the people you touch and the impact you have,” he said.
That impact continued on Thursday when Docherty donated $30,000 from his Jim Stynes Community leadership award to Peter Mac for cancer research. He also donated $10,000 from the award to MacKillop Family Services where he is an ambassador for its Paw Pals program.
This uses therapy dogs to help Victorian school students stay connected to education.
Docherty says it’s important for him to give back to the community and to cancer research.
He says there were many dark days in his journey and now he wants to have a hand in helping others.
Docherty recalls day three of a particularly tough chemotherapy session when his phone pinged.
Cripps had sent some images that brought him to tears. They were fans engaging on the ‘Do It For Doc’ Instagram page that Cripps had helped to set up and that has since raised more than $220,000 for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation.
Docherty says raising money for research is important, but he also wants to use his journey to encourage young men, the group most likely to be diagnosed with testicular cancer, not to put their heads in the sand about their health.
“You think nothing is wrong if you don’t find out, but the opposite is true. Early detection is best because there is an opportunity to do something about it.”
Docherty is testament to that.
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Originally published as Blues’ star Sam Docherty loving life on and off the field
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