JASON SAVED ME
Golf star’s mum on her US mercy dash for cancer treatment
THE mother of Queensland golf champion Jason Day is back at work two months after being told she had only a year to live. Day whisked his mother Dening to the US for immediate cancer treatment, breaking down in tears as he told the world she had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Dening Day said her son’s access to the world’s best doctors had saved her life. “I’m very, very lucky he not only had the resources to help but was in an industry where he had all the contacts to turn to for assistance,” she said.
CHAMPION golfer Jason Day broke down two months ago as he told the world his mother had been informed she only had 12 months to live.
Today the indomitable Dening Day is back on her feet, back at work and forever grateful her rich and famous son had the power to help save her life.
“I’m very, very lucky he not only had the resources to help but was in an industry where he had all the contacts to turn to for assistance,” the 60-year-old said of Day’s role in allowing her to access expert treatment in the US following a terminal lung cancer diagnosis.
“After my daughter found out, I told her ‘Don’t bother Jason because he’s got the (US) Masters coming up’ but she didn’t listen … that same day she phoned him crying and he was crying on the other side of the world and that was it – the next day we were flying to America.
“Jason had the resources to help otherwise I would have only had 12 months (to live).”
Day, who honed his craft at Kooralbyn International School’s golf academy, made international headlines in March when he hosted an emotional press conference after quitting the World Match Play tournament in Texas.
Between tears, he revealed his mother was set to have surgery within days after flying her to the US for further medical opinions.
It was an all-too familiar tale for Day, having lost his father to cancer when he was 12 and having learned well after the event that his mother had a lumpectomy to remove what turned out to be a benign tumour in her breast.
As she did on that occasion, Dening concealed her latest health scare from her son and two daughters for as long as she could. “One day Kim came over to say good night and she found out,” she said of her youngest daughter noticing the blood she had been coughing up for three months.
“My doctor had told me I had 12 months and we were planning a biopsy, but Jason said ‘No, we can’t wait, come now’ … it was so quick. Kim couldn’t come because she was having a baby but (my daughter) Yanna dropped everything to come with me.
“From the moment we landed at the airport, we went straight to the hospital for procedures and four days later I was in surgery.”
That surgery saw the successful removal of a tumour and fears the lung cancer had spread were dismissed. While Dening must have regular check-ups, the prognosis is now favourable for the nonsmoker.
“I don’t smoke and I don’t drink, but I do swear,” she joked. “I’m doing well except for being short of breath sometimes.”
Despite her son inviting her to stay in luxury at his Ohio home, she has not only returned to her humble Brisbane abode but her job in customer service for a shipping company.
“(Staying in the US) doesn’t appeal to me,” said Dening, who grew up in an impoverished Philippine village as one of 11 children.
“My husband was your typical old-school husband, very strict and wanting to control everything … but when he died I finally had freedom. Now if I want to go somewhere, I can without having to worry about answering to anyone.”