Baby inspiration amid cancer battle
Testicular cancer, lung cancer, and a brain tumour.
In the past year, had the lot.
And if you think that’s horrific, his Dad also died in a motorbike crash, his grandmother died of breast cancer and doctors have said his grandfather is suffering from a terminal illness.
For many that would be souldestroying, but not for Carey.
The 31-year-old Aucklander says it’s easy to stay positive. For inspiration he has 10-week-old daughter Mila, whose name was inspired by the Spanish word for miracle, milagro.
‘‘You can’t help but be with her around,’’ he says.
‘‘She does the night shift, I do the morning,’’ Carey says, nodding at his partner, Sinead McIntyre.
‘‘Actually, I’m pretty lucky to get to spend this time with [Mila]. A lot of fathers don’t get this time.’’
The cancer saga began at the end of last year, when he experienced sharp stomach pains, and had them checked out, at McIntyre’s urging.
That’s when the doctors discovered cancer in his right testicle. It was chopped off. The cancer was caught early, but it did mean there was a chance Carey and McIntyre wouldn’t be able to have children.
They made the decision that they were going to freeze some sperm to help with IVF down the track, but in the meantime Mila decided to come along.
About the time McIntyre discovered she was pregnant, cancer was found in Carey’s lung. This time it meant chemo and spells in hospital.
‘‘We were going through same things. He was getting Brad Carey’s happy the sick from the medicine, I was getting sick from morning sickness. We were both getting up during the night to go toilet, and we were both tired,’’ McIntyre said.
‘‘Yeah, I took sympathy pregnancy to extreme,’’ Carey laughs.
At the end of it, the couple gave the oncology ward a chocolate cake to say thanks.
‘‘The nurses said, ‘we but we never want to again’.’’ love see you you
About a month after Mila came along, Carey’s face started drooping as he was lying in bed.
‘‘He started talking gibberish. I had no idea what was going on. It was so scary,’’ McIntyre says.
It was a seizure which led to the discovery of a brain tumour.
‘‘Some of the nurses from oncology saw me when I came back in and said ‘we told you not to come in here again’,’’ Carey says.
The problem with his cancer is that it’s the first time the doctors and specialists have seen it play out like this.
‘‘There is no textbook on how to deal with it. But they are telling me they are hoping to cure it,’’ Carey says.
The good thing is that each time, the cancer has been caught early.
Cancer is the leading cause of death in New Zealand, accounting for a third of all deaths, according to a study published in the New Zealand Medical Journal.
Survival rates have improved over the past two decades, sitting at 61 per cent, with the chances of survival greater if the disease is diagnosed early.
So, Carey’s chance.
A relation has set up a Givealittle page to help the family manage. got a fighting
Some of the nurses from oncology saw me when I came back in and said 'we told you not to come in here again'. Brad Carey