Yarraville Club to host T20 fundraiser for pancreatic cancer after Michael Johnstone’s diagnosis

Six weeks on from his pancreatic cancer diagnosis, Michael Johnstone’s family and friends are still coming to grips with the battle he faces. Yet, they are preparing to put emotion to one side to raise awareness about the “insidious” disease.

Michael and Mitch Johnstone take part in the Pankind charity walk

Michael Johnstone has always had a zest for life.

He’s a hardworking electrician from Melbourne’s west who has been on the tools almost 40 years.

A longtime member of cover band RetroMax, loving grandfather and father to three children – Mitch, Rhiannon and Liam.

And he has been a cricketer with Western Colts, Sunshine United, East Coburg and Sydenham-Hillside, a VFA footballer at Sunshine and a proud part of sporting clubs across Melbourne’s western suburbs — including being founding president of the Hillside Football Club.

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Now, former teammates, family and friends are coming together to support the 62-year-old in his time of need.

Johnstone was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on October 7 after a CT scan uncovered the reason he had lost more than 20kg.

“Dad had really struggled with fatigue and we kind of put it down to that he was getting a bit older,” Johnstone’s son Mitch said.

“He’s worked really hard and he is also a Type 2 diabetic. He lost a lot of weight, the best part of 23kg, and he was always a very solid guy.

“He looked quite gaunt, frail and had lost a lot of his muscle, so we knew something was up.

“He went to three GPs and all the blood tests came back clear. But the fourth GP insisted he go for a CE scan and later that day he was summoned back to get the verdict.”

Michael Johnstone on stage with his bandmates from Retromax

It is estimated more than 4000 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in Australia this year.

The disease has a five-year survival rate of just 13 per cent.

“I had no real understanding of how insidious it was,” Mitch said.

“The stats aren’t wonderful in terms of recovery. It’s been a bit of a tough pill to swallow and it took some time to process.

“That will continue to be a bit of a rollercoaster for all concerned.

“Pancreatic cancer is a very aggressive form of cancer. It was all a shock to us and we had no understanding of how aggressive it is.”

Michael and Mitch Johnstone take part in the Pankind charity walk.

Mitch described his dad as a “larger than life character.”

“He’s definitely the life of the party,” he said.

“Muso is probably a bit of a generous term, (but) he enjoys his music.

“All those things have been a big part of his life. He loves his Bluebaggers and passed on the interest in sport to us kids as well.

“Lives life to the fullest. He has packed a lot into 62 years and we hope there’s a bit more to come yet.”

Mitch Johnstone has been the brains behind the family’s latest fundraising initiative, the Pankind Power Play T20 match, which will be played this Sunday at Hansen Reserve in West Footscray.

“It’s all still relatively raw. It’s emblematic of how he goes about things, trying to take some kind of action,” Mitch said.

“Even if it’s for him, or the suffer is beyond him. He’s done a walk … and then his little cover band had a gig a couple of Saturday nights ago and raised over $2500.

“The common ground dad and I have is sport and we thought what better way to leverage that than through cricket.”

Michael’s large support squad from the Pankind walk.

Mitch said the initial diagnosis had been “galling”.

“When you hear that word cancer, it knocks you around a bit,” he said.

“The first fortnight we were just picking up the pieces a bit.

“But the family is a bit similar to dad in terms of, ‘well we can mope around or we can get on with things and have little milestones’.

“Christmas is around the corner, so as siblings we thought those little milestones to keep him really motivated are important while also raising funds, awareness and bringing people together.”

He said the past six weeks had been a “wave of shock, fear and being scared for (Michael)”.

“He’s a pretty stoic kind of character so to see him emotional, it’s hard to see when your dad is like that,” Mitch said.

“But we have all banded together, just trying to think about what’s best for him at the moment.”

Former international cricketers Chinthaka Jayasinghe (Sri Lanka) and Darrel Brown (West Indies) will be part of Michael Johnstone’s Western Colts this weekend.

Other Victorian cricket luminaries such as Craig Berger and Craig Slocombe will also feature, while ex-BBL players Trent Lawford and Michael Hill will turn out for the Yarraville Club team.

But perhaps the most memorable part of the day will be five-year-old Lewis Johnstone, Mitch’s eldest son, bowling to his grandpa.

It promises to be a special moment for the Johnstones – and one they hope to emulate for many years to come as Lewis and his younger siblings carry on the family’s sporting legacy.

“It’s his first organised cricket game out in the middle,” Mitch said.

“It’s going to be a really special day.”

The first ball of the Pankind Power Play T20 will take place at 1pm, with live music, food, an auction and classic catches competition to be part of the event.

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Originally published as Yarraville Club to host T20 fundraiser for pancreatic cancer after Michael Johnstone’s diagnosis