How simple blood test alerted Dalby man Tony McIlveen to prostate cancer | It’s a Bloke Thing fundraiser

A Dalby prostate cancer survivor is encouraging men to get regular check-ups, after a simple blood test saved his life. Find out more about Tony McIlveen’s journey.

When Tony McIlveen was first diagnosed with prostate cancer he knew he had a long and difficult journey ahead of him.

Like Tony, his father before him had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and he had also lost a close family member to the devastating disease.

Tony has now joined forces with prostate cancer charity It's A Bloke Thing in a bid to urge men put their pride and stubbornness aside for the sake of their friends and family.

“It was out of a random blood test, I had a different GP one day and I was testing for something else and they told me my PSA levels were not where they should be. We had that hard conversation there and then,” he said.

“It's a simple blood test, everyone has this thing with prostate checks that they think it’s a finger in the backside but it's just a blood test.”

Tony battled prostate cancer

After being alerted to his increased PSA levels Tony knew he had to act quickly.

“I started on the road in 2022 and my numbers kept climbing so they passed me over to a urologist in Toowoomba and we started on the road that has to be followed,” he said.

“My numbers kept climbing so we had scans, biopsies and after that we had the confirmation I had two cancers in my prostate.

“I then started that period of knowing I had them inside me even though they weren't active.

“The urologist told me I could act now or do active surveillance so we sat on that road and by April of 2023 they woke up.

“We then got on the move and in August last year we got my prostate out and got onto the road of recovery.”

Despite the difficulties, the cancer did little to damper Tony’s indomitable spirit.

“It's a journey, but it's not a bad journey (and) there is always someone sicker than you, that’s how I look at it,” he said.

“It shouldn't have to be a sad thing it's like you’ve got this monster inside you but you just need to deal with it and get on with life.

“I look at it like a train ride, you don't want to get on the train, but if you don't get on the train you're stuck on the station and you’re in trouble.

“Positivity is the biggest thing, there has been prostate issues in my family my dad had his out 11 years ago and I have lost a family member to it, so it has become passion of mine to convince guys to get tested.”

Tim O'Neill on stage during a panel discussion at It's A Bloke Thing 2023 at Wellcamp Airport, Friday, August 18, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Tony asked men to do the simple thing and get regular check-ups for the sake of their family and themselves.

“I think a lot of men don't get checked because they’re scared, they’re afraid of what's going to come out of it. There's a lot of people out there and I’m one of them who had no symptoms so if you don't do the checks it’s got you before you can do anything about it,” he said.

“It’s all about making blokes aware, it's pretty simple to find out what’s going on, just get a blood test.

“My own little saying is if you don't want to go down this road you’ll be on the wrong side of the gravel and you’ve got to stay on the right side.”

Shannon Noll at It's A Bloke Thing 2023 at Wellcamp Airport, Friday, August 18, 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer

It’s a Bloke Thing general manager Mick Dwane said they would be hosting their annual fundraiser lunch next month at Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport to spread awareness and raise funds for cancer research.

“The fundraiser we are hosting on August 16 is a major fundraiser and one of the biggest lunch time fundraisers of its kind in Australia. Last year raised $1.5m,” he said.

“We currently support three prostate cancer nurses, one in Darwin, one in Toowoomba and one on the Gold Coast and we just about to fund another nurse at the Base Hospital.

“We also fund research and education, educating men about the need to know your number and get tested.

“We also have some unbelievable entertainment at the event, I can't reveal who but in the past we’ve had Keith Urban and Ronan Keating so there will be a very pleased audience again when they see who is in attendance.”

Ultimately he encouraged men to get the test.

“The ultimate thing we want to get across is to encourage men to get tested, not going and getting tested doesn’t just have an impact on the person but their family as a whole,” he said.

“Should you be diagnosed with prostate cancer at least you will have caught it early.

“We lose on average 10 men a day to prostate cancer and there are 70 men a day diagnosed yet the survival rate is 95 per cent if you catch it early enough.”