“If I’m Gonna Die, I’m Gonna Die Trying” | Joe Surace - EP185

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Doctors gave him three days to three weeks to live, and some of them begged him not to try the chemo. Joe Surace was a Melbourne-born photographer and fruit-and-veg lifer working 70-hour weeks on the Sunshine Coast when, at 39, a back pain his doctors kept calling sciatica turned out to be an extremely rare testicular cancer that had spread to his lymph nodes and taken over 70% of his liver. Given a 30% chance with aggressive chemo in ICU or palliative care, he chose to die trying. What followed was 133 days in hospital, a body down to 40 kilos, emergency lung surgery, and a recovery that started with six steps.

Get in touch with Joe Surace

https://www.joesurace.com.au

Joe’s Quick Fire Answers

What does success mean to you?
“Success today means having a good life surrounded by amazing friends and family, sharing great times, going to bed knowing you don’t have any enemies. Twenty years ago it would have been the nice house, all the money. That stuff’s nice, but being rich in good friends, connections, family, good times — to me, that’s success.”

What does happiness mean to you?
“That’s an easy one. It’s sitting on a cruise ship looking at the beautiful ocean sail by with an amazing sunset, cocktail in hand, good friends nearby. I’m in my absolute element.”

What’s your normal morning routine these days?
“Within the first half hour, a shot of espresso — a nice little black coffee. I tend to wake up anywhere between 4:30 and 6 most mornings, and I usually try and get a good dog walk in before work. The beach at least three or four days a week.”

What piece of advice would you put on a billboard for the world to see?

“Be kind, be nice, don’t be an asshole. We can all just get along, be kind and show a bit of empathy. That’s another thing cancer taught me. And be positive.”

Who would you suggest as a future guest on the show?
“Dr Long. He just loves not only trying to treat the cancer, but, like me, trying to help people thrive beyond it.”

Listen To The Podcast
https://pod.link/1683066164?view=apps&sort=popularity

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Chapters

(00:00:00) - Introduction

(00:00:43) – Chapter 1 | Forklifts At 14, A Photography Studio At 22, Back Pain Dismissed As Sciatica, The MRI That Found Cancer And The Hiccups That Nearly Killed Him

(00:38:00) – Chapter 2 | 133 Days In Hospital: 40 Kilos, Six Steps, Emergency Lung Surgery, A Mobility Scooter, Three Stairs To Twenty And Learning To Be Grateful