Some of you will have had the pleasure of meeting Rod (rcoh), if not, you would have benefited from his knowledge of delicas, the importance of quitting your job and improving your lifestyle for you and your loved ones, his Beastie Boys anecdotes and audio recordings provided from the ABC, Simpsons jokes, video store boostering plus his committment to Bad Religon.
Rod has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, his treatment and recovery is going to involve a lot of time away from work and home. It’s all very well to send e-hugs and supportive messages, but Rod will need to hire someone to staff the store, babysitters to look after the kids, cover unexpected travel and also eat when the last thing you want to do after a day of being in a hospital is cook.
So if you can spare a little ramen money, please kick it in here for Rod. He would never ask for help and is probably very embarrassed that we are doing this, but if the #foamafia is a thing, then prove it when it matters:
Also, let this be your periodical reminder to have you (or a friend) check your body for lumps and bumps, and if you find anything untoward, go to a doctor.
Well done on organising this. You’re a good bunch.
Here’s a pic from the ride Rod organised in Sydney just prior to leaving us for Bellingen. Was a great day, would be a good one to again, I guess not this summer but definitely next.
Hi Everyone - I’ve kind of put off replying to this thread because I don’t really know what to say, except thank you all so much.
I owe cycling a lot - from the great crew I met racing MTBs through Farkin and Western Sydney MTB Club, and following that when I stopped racing all the amazing people I have made friends with through FOA.
As for this cancer business, I hope to get through it as easily as possible. My surgery is on 5/3, and I have had all the pre-surgery scans & tests. I meet with the surgeon and oncologist next tuesday to discuss results of said tests and look at treatment options for post surgery. Best case scenario is surgery + hormone treatment, meaning the cancer is entirely localised in my breast, at this time of year, at this time of day in this part of the country. Radio therapy and chemo therapy come into play if it has spread further, to my lymph nodes or elsewhere.
Anyway - thanks again for everything - you really are a wonderful bunch of people. I have learnt a lot and laughed a lot with the FOA crew from around Australia over the years, and the site has a very positive impact on my life, now more so than ever.
Hi Everyone. I haven’t been using FOA for a bit since the new format is weird and I’ve had other things on my plate. I had my final chemotherapy treatment 2 weeks ago and whilst I haven’t had the “official” all clear yet, for all intents and purposes I am now cancer free. I do have to have 5 - 10 years of Hormone Treatment as a follow up, as well as regular check ups but that will be nothing compared to the past 6 months.
Without going into too much detail, I had a very aggressive tumour in my breast and it had spread via my lymphatic system, but only in micro-metastases. Because of my young age and relative good health I was prescribed an intensive chemotherapy program which sort of “carpet bombed” my body to eliminate any rogue cancer cells. Suffice to say chemotherapy is pretty horrible and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I am very happy to be finished, although the side-effects are still with me and will be for a while. I am slowly increasing my daily exercise and hope to be riding again regularly within a couple of weeks.
To anyone who donated, sent me a message or phoned, sent care packages or came and visited I can’t thank you enough. The chemotherapy really robs you of energy & motivation and sometimes it is reading & re-reading the fantastic things people have said that gives you the bump to get out of bed and do something. The donations also helped with employing people when I couldn’t work, driving the many, many 60km round trips to hospital, as well as all the medical costs (scans, medication, etc), a surprising number of which aren’t totally covered by medicare. It really made a hard time much easier.
I am now looking forward to a (shaping up to be) hot summer full of early rides, ocean & river swims and hanging out with the family and dog. If anyone ever finds themselves in a similar situation, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me and I will be more than happy to help out in any way possible, even if it’s just to chat about what might be coming ahead, or what is happening, or to help navigate the hospital system.
