Local musician fights cancer
Fri 01 September 2006
Jennifer Meager, Journalism
He may have had an illustrious music career over the past 35 years, but for the last year blues guitarist Kevin Borich has battled against cancer.
He, like the many others who fight cancer every day, is one of our silent heroes. They fight one of life’s toughest battles, yet they don’t receive the recognition.
In an effort to help the Queensland Cancer Fund, Mr Borich has lent his name and face to a worthy cause – the Relay For Life.
The Relay for Life is the Queensland Cancer Fund’s major fundraiser, which is an all night event. Participants complete a relay walk or run around a local track for 18 hours to raise money.
Mr Borich said the Cancer Fund approached him to get involved in this fundraising event, which will not only raise money for cancer sufferers, but raise its profile in the community.
“There’s so many types of cancer and it’s getting worse and worse,” Mr Borich said.
“You need to do things, they’re (the cancer fund) self-funded and they wanted to bring attention to the fact that they’re raising money and they called and asked if I would get involved.”
“I thought about it and thought ‘Why not?’, because it’s just a horrible thing to go through. I’ve come out the other side, there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
“People get diagnosed and think the worst because it’s a killer. Good stories are a good thing for people about to go through it.”
Mr Borich said he will definitely be attending the Relay for Life, which will be held at the Maleny Showgrounds from Saturday, September 9 to Sunday, September 10.
Mr Borich said he will lead the survivors’ walk, which starts the relay event. He said he would be happy to share his experience before the walk and perform a couple of songs.
“My family will try and all turn up,” he said.
“When a person gets diagnosed it’s definitely a family thing because the patient needs so much support to go through and that’s what the whole thing’s about.”
“I am just very lucky that I got a lot of support from my wife. For a month we were going in and out, you can image the burden of it. The last week we spent at a motel close to the hospital.”
Mr Borich said he wanted to get involved in the Relay for Life to help get his message across to other cancer sufferers.
“If it’s an early diagnosis your chances are good, it’s not a dead end street,” he said.
“You’ve really got to fight and do everything you can, but you’ve got to have that support because when you are going through treatment it’s like going through a war zone.”
“Your comprehension isn’t together either. You need someone there to write anything down and there’s a lot to follow. You get too shell- shocked to take it in.”
Mr Borich was diagnosed with Nasophangeal Carcinoma - a rare form of cancer in the nose that is very aggressive. He said he was prepared to do what he could to stop the cancer, including chemotherapy and radiation.
Mr Borich said he asked his doctors what the side effects would be, which included loosing his teeth, hair, his saliva glands, some hearing and some feeling in his fingers.
Mr Borich said the side effects were a guitarist’s worst nightmare. He told his doctors he would not go ahead with treatment. They told him he would have six to eight months to live.
Mr Borich said he would not have known he had cancer if it wasn’t for a lump which developed in his neck.
“(It was) coming out in a lump in my neck as secondary cancer and it was the only way I knew I had it as there was no pain,” he said.
“I was shaving over this lump and saying ‘What’s this?’ and then I was diagnosed. Then they said because it’s aggressive it does react really well to treatment.”
“When you find out, you’re being told and it’s tragically funny. It’s really weird. You don’t believe it, but boy when you’re going through it you know it for sure.”
Mr Borich said he had been in remission before, but this time round he felt he was beating it.
“I’ve had two follow up scans and they’re all clear. I’m believing the fact that I’m beating it,” he said. “And the reality is there’s always a possibility of it coming back.”
“You have to keep on a health path, what’s best to eat for example. It’s a very individual thing - everyone’s so different. We need a different treatment and attack plan.”
“The darkest I got was when I was going through the chemo and radiotherapy towards the end I started to think ‘I’ve had a good life’. It started off with this imaginary fantasy, looking at my own funeral but seeing my family crying and my children and thought how they’d be growing up without a father and something sparked in me to fight more.
“They wouldn’t have a dad. I broke down and decided that I had to fight on. The main reason was the kids. At the start I thought I’d had a good life, done just about everything and definitely my family was kind of the reason that kicked me into more action and gave me fighting spirit.”
“You know that’s what you’re here for. Coming out the other side, everything is much shinier, there’s a wow factor - that’s what you were here for. You can become blasé about life and now everything’s a little more full of wonder for me.”
Mr Borich recently played at the Byron Bay Blues Festival, which was one of his first shows since finishing treatment.
He said he would be getting back into his music, with a new CD to be released early next year, which will included songs that reflect his fight with cancer.
Image(s) designed by www.kevinborich.com.au
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Submitted Comments
I like the direct quotes from Borich. If it had of been another topic the lack of paraphrasing may have seemed lazy. However in this case it just helped the reader sympathise more with Borich's plight. Very good!
Beth