About blue brothers

In January 2015, Dave Cattermole & his partner Gill completed Stewart Island's Great Walk, both in typical form and in good time. But by Easter, Dave no longer had the energy to get off the couch. Something didn’t feel quite right.

After many many tests, scans & specialist visits, Dave was eventually diagnosed with a cancerous tumour on his kidney. The doctors moved swiftly and completed a roof-top surgery to remove the entire kidney, and subsequent scans revealed a small tumour on his remaining kidney, as well as two inflamed (and inoperable) chest lymph nodes.

For most people, this would have been an extremely tough journey. But in true Dave fashion, he committed to a strict health & fitness regime. His goal was not only to recover well from his operations, but to continue to live life well, despite his remaining cancer diagnosis.

This he did, and only six months after his initial diagnosis, he and Gill completed the 120km Australian Sunshine Coast’ Coastal Pathway. A testament to Dave’s strength and tenacity to not let cancer get in the way of living.

And so today, seven years on from the removal of the initial tumour, Dave acknowledged he still lives with cancer.

“It doesn’t stop me - in fact, I’m determined to face it head on,” he said.
“I prefer to say that I am living with cancer, rather than dying of it, or suffering from it,” he explained. “We’ve gone positive.”

Dave explained he's had the odd medical setback since his diagnosis, resulting in different updates at each oncologist visit.

“Things come and go, and when we go for scans, they look different every time,” he explained. “So, to be honest, I’m not quite sure where it’s at!”

One thing he was sure of, however, was he wanted to use his experience to help others. He felt that if he was living with cancer, there would be others out there too who might wish to connect.