Description

Tim Baker was living the dream A bestselling and awardwinning surf writer with a beautiful family a lifetime of exotic travel and a home walking distance to quality waves
That all changed on July 7 2015 when he was diagnosed out of the blue with stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer So began a descent into the debilitating world of aggressive cancer treatments and a fight for a survival as brutal as any big wave hold down

Tim writes candidly and with a raw vulnerability about this perilous journey through chemotherapy hormone therapy radiation and surgery and his own determined lifestyle strategies to maintain mind body and spirit Happily surfing provided one of his most powerful forms of therapy and writing about his experiences has proven deeply cathartic

In 2020 15 million men were diagnosed with prostate cancer globally and 375000 lost their lives In Australia one in seven men will develop prostate cancer Yet mainstream oncology concedes its ability to keep men with prostate cancer alive has outstripped its ability to manage the oftendevastating side effects of treatment Men with prostate cancer are living longer but with a steadily declining quality of life

Patting The Shark documents Tims efforts to navigate his way through the maze of conventional and supportive therapies meditation diet exercise emotional support counselling Ultimately it is a desperate plea for a more integrative approach to cancer care treating the whole person and not just the cancer allowing cancer patients a sense of empowerment and agency in charting their path through treatment

This is a story about facing your mortality staring down your fears and working out what really matters in life when so many elements of your identity are stripped away It offers hope comfort and empathy for anyone facing a cancer diagnosis and their loved ones