Tackling his shock diagnosis head-on
Local rugby league legend vows to extend his life for as long as possible
A beloved husband, father and grandfather is trying to spread awareness as he comes to grips with his new heartbreaking reality after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Richard (Dick) Walsh considered himself to be fit, healthy and strong, but in March 2023 he and his family were dealt a devastating blow when doctors uncovered he had colon cancer that had spread throughout his body.
The 52 year old was told his life expectancy had been cut to 10 months.
Now the long-time Townsville footy coach has entered into the flight of his life, because that’s exactly what it is for – to extend his life for as long as possible.
And he is determined to defy the odds.
“I’m not about to go anywhere in 10 months,” Richard Walsh said.
“I have a wife … four beautiful kids and eight grandchildren that I want to be around to see.”
Mr Walsh, also known as The Wolf, and his wife Kyra (or Lady Vamp) are the brains behind Vamp Manor in Townsville – which has since had to shutter because of his diagnosis.
It all started with back pain at varying levels of severity that later moved to his lower abdomen, but when all his CAT scans came back clear he managed it with paracetamol or ibuprofen.
“I don’t like going to doctors … from my case, it was sort of a show of weakness if I had to go to the doctor,” he said.
“I like to think I was a strong, fit bloke.”
So he put up with it for about 12 months before the pain became unbearable and his family pushed him to go back to Townsville University Hospital where he underwent an ultrasound and pet scan, and he said he was moved from the medical ward to oncology.
“All of a sudden one of the medical oncologists came to see me and broke the news, ‘You’ve got a large tumour in your large intestine that we will have to surgically remove’,” he said.
“(The doctor) also went on to break the news that the cancer had metastasised to my liver.”
Doctors had found lesions on his liver and L1 vertebrae, as well as lymph nodes in his stomach.
Mr Walsh said he was told “the cancer that you have and the stage that you have it, it’s incurable”.
“(They said) we can start you on chemo or radiation treatment, which will prolong your life but we will never be able to cure you,” he said.
“That all happened very quickly.”
Mr Walsh, who coached at junior and senior leves of rugby league including for Centrals and Townville representative teams, said his type of cancer was genetic.
“My dad passed away from the same cancer,” he said.
“My children are all susceptible.”
The heavy news was still sinking in, he said.
“What it triggers in me is the word fight,” he said.
“Cancer to me is where I need to sort of stand up and fight this thing … I’m not going to roll into a corner … and feel sorry for myself.
“I have full faith in my care team.
“They’ll do the best by me.”