“I had to have a conversation with Liz about when I'm gone, how it's okay to love again. Because the likelihood is she’ll be 50 years old and widowed.”
Father-of-three Adam Johnson is a larger-than-life character – his bold shirts, infectious smile and charisma brightens up the room.
Since his diagnosis last year, the 50-year-old has begun the difficult process of preparing himself and his loved ones that he may not be here much longer.
It all started with a few odd symptoms that culminated in an incident that would change his life.
“I went to the toilet, and it all turned bad. Just instantly. I've just looked down and it was just blood,” Adam remembers.
The following day, Adam’s doctor told him to go straight to the Emergency Department at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital instructing him that doctors would be waiting for him.
It was a there that Adam was told the most devastating news - he had Stage 4 advanced prostate cancer and there was no chance it could be cured.
“I've never felt alone, and I had no right to feel alone because I never am, but for that moment – I felt deeply alone and lost.”
“I still remember one nurse in particular, she brought me a chocolate bar. I said to her: ‘there's not a stash of chocolate bars in that next room for you to give to everyone. You've put your hand in your pocket, you've put that in the machine, and you've brought me a chocolate bar’. And I thought, well, they know.”
The news was shattering for Adam. Having lost both his parents to cancer at a young age he understood the importance of being open, honest and transparent about the new reality that would affect their whole family.
He admits the hardest moment was telling his daughter and two sons.
“We did spend six months crying, but because we're so open and honest and talk about it openly, it has certainly helped with that process.
“I know I’ll miss so much - milestones, weddings, birthdays, grandchildren, stuff like that, but also the simple things like holding your wife's hand. But I'm at peace.
“While it's a hideous disease and no one wants it, I've got it, and now I've got the opportunity to do whatever it is that I want to do in life because of it.”
Adam resigned from his job as a wine broker and celebrant and is cherishing moments with his family, reconnecting with old friends and going on new adventures.
He has even managed to tick everything off his bucket list.
“I had an elderly grandmother who lived in Sydney and she was renowned for her scones. So, I flew to Sydney and I made scones with my grandmother on the kitchen bench. That was the last tick.”
Since then, Adam has been spending time with loved ones enjoying trips away and enjoying precious moments spent together and he feels he’s been preparing himself and his family for this moment over the years.
“We go camping on Moreton Island a lot and I’ve already said to my son Jack: ‘mate, one day when I go, I want you to come to this island and put my ashes all over the island and that way when you and your family visit the island you can remember me’.”
With an estimated 25,500 cases in 2023, prostate cancer accounted for 28 percent of cancers diagnosed in males and while mortality rates have been decreasing the number of deaths due to prostate cancer continue to rise.
Adam has found a path that allows him to live life to the fullest, whilst recognising that many do not have the same opportunity.
Adam bravely shares his story as the face of this year’s Wishlist’s Ks 4 Cancer, a family-friendly fun run at Lake Kawana on Sunday, October 20, to raise vital funds for families impacted by cancer across the Sunshine Coast and Gympie.
Proceeds from the event will contribute to essential medical equipment and support services, including the Wishlist Centre accommodation facility, offering a comforting 'home away from home' for patients undergoing cancer treatment.
“When I first walked into Wishlist Centre, it hit me that this was something I needed to be part of.
“The sense of unity, I knew that was an incredibly special place for all the right reasons and that's why I wanted to be part of it.”
