Inspirational recovery


Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Broadcast: 15/02/2011

Reporter: Danielle Parry

Cancer survivor Ross Taylor tells his amazing story of recovery to inspire others tackling the disease.


HEATHER EWART, PRESENTER: Being diagnosed with a melanoma is an all-too-common reality for Baby Boomers who spent their childhoods baking in the harsh Australian sun.

For high-flying Perth businessman Ross Taylor, it was a devastating and potentially deadly blow, but also a wake-up call that's seen him re-balance his life.

17 years after we first met Ross Taylor on the 7.30 Report he's now cancer-free and using his remarkable story of recovery to inspire others tackling the disease.

Danielle Parry reports from Perth.

DANIELLE PARRY, REPORTER: Ross Taylor enjoys nothing more than an early morning swim at Perth's Cottesloe Beach. Smothered in sun cream and wearing a rash vest, he's not taking any chances in the West Australian sun that gave him a melanoma 17 years ago and almost cost him his life.

ROSS TAYLOR: One of the gifts of cancer is to make you really appreciate just how precious life is. It has an incredible way of making you not sweat the small stuff.

DANIELLE PARRY: The 7.30 Report first met Ross Taylor in 1994 when he was in his early 40s and had just been diagnosed with cancer.

ROSS TAYLOR (1994): I was on business in Jakarta having a shower and under the shower I noticed a lump under what is my lymph gland under my arm about the size of a very large marble.

DANIELLE PARRY: The international businessman and former surf lifesaver had just returned from Asia to begin a punishing regime of chemo and radiotherapy to rid his body of melanoma and the secondary cancers that came with it.

ROSS TAYLOR: Well the prognosis wasn't really good. My oncologist had told me that with the chemotherapy and the radiotherapy and surgery, my prognosis probably a 50/50 chance for the first year.

KATHERINE TAYLOR: Having come from a nursing background, I was well aware that secondary melanoma was not such a good thing to have. And I really did believe that maybe, you know, that this disease would probably take him.

DANIELLE PARRY: Ross Taylor admits that at first he was in denial about the seriousness of his illness.

ROSS TAYLOR: I was sitting up in my bed connected to the chemotherapy drugs and I was still trading in rock phosphate fertilisers to Asia. And my wife Catherine was running around living the cancer journey. And I think the catalyst for this change really came about when one day she walked into the hospital room and said to me, "I'm going to hand over the responsibility for this cancer journey to you."

DANIELLE PARRY: Part of taking responsibility meant reluctantly joining a cancer support group. It was a confronting experience for a high-flying businessman, but he believes it was pivotal to his recovery.

ROSS TAYLOR: I think the first lady I met there was a lady named Kathy Brown. And she explained she had exactly the same type of cancer as I had and the prognosis was about the same and yet she was over four and a half years out. And I can remember thinking to myself, "Wow, you know, if that lady can do this, so can I."

KATHY BROWN: He didn't want to join in with the group with people who were all suffering with cancer, but he then started to open up and really embrace the whole program.

DANIELLE PARRY: Ross Taylor did his research. He started a regular meditation and exercise regime and cleaned up his diet, with a focus on fresh juice. Then he left the rest to his doctors.

ROSS TAYLOR: That's their job to try and cure me. What I would do with the help of my wife and the people who cared for me was to embark on a program to, in a holistic sense, try and bring my life, in a general health sense, into complete harmony.

DANIELLE PARRY: The path to recovery was no picnic for Ross Taylor's family. They're rock solid today, but the ordeal took a toll on his teenage daughter, who ran away from home.

So you went a bit off the rails?

LISA TAYLOR, DAUGHTER: Went a bit off the rails. When I was 13 I ran away to Albany. And then when I was 15, I went to Melbourne for a year, and that wasn't the easiest time for me.

DANIELLE PARRY: Ross Taylor is now cancer-free and trying to share the lessons he's learnt with other cancer sufferers like Clinton Heal who was diagnosed with melanoma at just 22. The young West Australian of the Year says Ross Taylor encouraged him to give something back to the community.

CLINTON HEAL: It was kind of his inspiration and his mentorship that sort of made me think, well, maybe I could do something for others in the same situation. So I had the thought of making a website with information to start with. And he sort of sat down and said, "You know, that's a great idea, but you're the one who's gonna drive this and I'll help you along the way."

ROS WORTHINGTON, BREAST CANCER CARE WA: Ross has always wanted to give back. I mean, he really is a true philanthropist in the true sense. He quietly behind the scenes will help anybody and reach out and give support.

DANIELLE PARRY: In a cruel twist, the Taylors are now grappling with another cancer diagnosis. Their daughter's partner has a terminal brain tumour. He's now living in the family's Perth home where they're using everything they've learnt to help him.

LISA TAYLOR: There's gotta be a reason for all this and I'm sure just meeting Nick, you know, him coming to our family was almost fate in itself, you know, because what better family for him to come to than a family who knows so much about cancer.

DANIELLE PARRY: Despite his ordeal, Ross Taylor's outlook remains bright. He's written several books about living with cancer and donated the hundreds of thousands of dollars in proceeds to charity. He's cautiously optimistic about his prognosis and grateful for his new perspective on life.

ROSS TAYLOR: I avoid using words like, you know, "Yes, I've beaten cancer after 17 years," because I've got 75,000 billion cells in my body; I don't really know whether some of them are cancerous or not. But all I know is at the moment, myself and I'm very blessed with my family, we live a very vibrant life and I think that's been an amazing journey.

HEATHER EWART: Danielle Parry with that report from Perth.

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