14 October 2019
To coincide with Legacy Month this October, Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) is putting a positive spin on the decision of leaving a gift in your Will with the new "At your best" campaign.
This month is about recognising the contribution of the many generous people in our community who leave gifts in their Will to charity.
PCFA's CEO, Professor Jeff Dunn AO, said the campaign provides the opportunity to create a lasting and remarkable legacy that could help to give the gift of a healthy life to so many others.
"Every year 1.3 million men worldwide are diagnosed with prostate cancer," Professor Dunn said.
"Alarmingly, Australia has one of the highest incidence rates internationally, with 1 in every 7 Australian men likely to be diagnosed during their lifetime."
"Leaving a gift in your Will to Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia can help us change the game in a way that no other organisation can," he said.
The campaign focuses on highlighting members of the community who are current supporters of PCFA and who are living their best lives. They take you on a journey of how to 'live your best life and leave a legacy'.
Barbara Friend is one of these individuals. She has included a gift in her Will to Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.
When asked about the impact of prostate cancer on her life, and why she, like us, is as determined to give Australian men their best life possible, she said that she wants to eradicate prostate cancer, and she knows that leaving a gift in her Will can make a powerful difference.
Barbara is leaving a lasting legacy – something each of us can do.
"My husband Pete died in April 2014. Just four years after his diagnosis with prostate cancer," she began.
"He'd had his PSA tested every year for 20 years. But missed his check in 2009. At his next check-up he was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer. In one year, it had escaped from the prostate and into his spine. By the time we caught it, the cancer was already contaminating every organ in his body."
Peter was diabetic, which meant that his body was less able to defend itself against his aggressive cancer.
"The doctors ran more tests, and tried different treatments, including chemo. All the while he was getting weaker in the legs," she explained. "We were home from the hospital and all of a sudden, he had a fall," Barbara said.
For the next few months, Peter was a wheelchair user, fighting to regain his power to walk.
"Then we had to start back on the chemo again and then the experimental drugs, in the end he had cancer everywhere, all in his bones, in his skull, I don't think there was a bone in his body that didn't have the cancer," she said.
The world of Barbara and Peter had been turned upside down. They tried to make the most of the time they had left together and went on Christmas holiday.
"The last Christmas we had was probably our best Christmas ever," she said.
Despite Pete's monumental strength, there was no hiding his pain, and Barbara will never forget the devastating impact on his quality of life.
"I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy and I really feel for people who’ve got to go down that journey... But my advice would be just make the most of what time you have. Make good memories for everybody," she concluded.
Barbara is right. By making a small gesture of generosity with a gift in your Will, you can make a difference today.
A gift in your Will creates hope. It provides vital future funding for research, better treatments, and awareness.
It allows PCFA to fund Australia's brightest scientists in their quest to cure prostate cancer and find a better screening test.
By leaving a gift in your Will, you will join PCFA's Legacy Circle and become part of a growing community of generous, passionate individuals, who care about eliminating prostate cancer for good.
For more information visit here or call 1800 220 099.
At your best, you are kind, you are generous, you are creating a legacy.
