SHANE Farrell feels lucky to have cancer.
It's not the typical response to life-altering news, but the 49-year-old Lake Macquarie local has been given a second chance - with options to treat prostate cancer that his father never had.
"It's been an interesting journey in a very short time," he said.
"I now tell people that I'm lucky, I'm lucky I have cancer.
"I think part of that is that when my father found out at 57 that he had cancer, it had already metastasised - he fought for 18 months but he didn't have the option of surgery.
"For myself where it's been caught very early, contained within the prostate, I can tell the story and say I have a chance for a cure."
It's Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, and despite only being diagnosed in July, Mr Farrell will lace up his joggers and walk 72km to raise funds and awareness of the disease.
The walk is part of The Long Run initiative, which encourages locals to run, walk or wheel just 72km to raise funds for Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia's work in research and support services - and collectively help cover the distance to the moon.
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia, with 66 men diagnosed every day. In Newcastle and Lake Macquarie alone, around 360 men will be diagnosed this year.
Mr Farrell wants other men to know their risks and get tested, after what he thought was a kidney infection turned out to be Stage 2 cancer.
He went for some routine tests, but when the doctor checked for an infection and ran a blood test - it became clear it was something more sinister.
An ultrasound showed he had something on his prostate, and a follow up MRI revealed a six millimetre lesion that turned out to be cancerous.
"I have a date set for surgery in January to remove my prostate, that's pretty much my journey," he said.
He hopes sharing his story will encourage other men to get tested earlier.
Prostate Cancer Foundation Australia chief executive Anne Savage encouraged locals to join Mr Farrell on their mission by taking part.
The aim is to raise more than $1.7 million for research and support, with more than 240,000 Australian men diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime - a figure set to increase by 43 per cent by 2040.
