The Australian and New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group Fundraiser raised more than $250,000 on November 15. Hamish Blake (MC), Charlie Davies, Dr Samantha Oakes (CEO, ANZUP) and Prof Peter Grimison
Charlie Davies is a 24-year-old real estate agent from Raine and Horne Double Bay who turned his personal battle with metastatic testicular cancer into a mission to save lives, rallying the eastern suburbs, real estate and wider community behind him.
Mr Davies first visited a GP in 2023 with concerns that were initially missed. A year later, he visited the doctor again, which led to a life-changing cancer diagnosis in February 2024 at the age of 23.
He underwent major surgery and nine weeks of chemotherapy, is now cancer-free for fifteen months and is on a mission to advocate for early detection.
“I first went to the GP with concerns about a lump in my right testicle, which had been brushed off because they thought it might be something else,” he said.
“The cancer spread in those kinds of spaces.”
Charlie Davies and his sister Polly
Mr Davies said he had extreme pain in his abdomen about a year after the first visit when he was sent to Medscan Double Bay for a scan.
“From that point on, everything happened pretty quickly,” he says. “The next day I was pretty much told that it would probably be testicular cancer and that I would need surgery to remove my right testicle and investigate further from there.”
When he was diagnosed, he was working in Double Bay’s real estate industry and undergoing nine weeks of chemotherapy.
“It was a quite aggressive tumor that was there and had spread to my lymph nodes in my abdomen at the back of my stomach when the intensive chemotherapy of just under three months was needed,” he said.
“That was probably by far the hardest part of the trip. I actually went there expecting it to be quite tough and it kind of threw me off a little bit in terms of the side effects. It was a lot worse than what I originally expected going in there.”
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Charlie’s mother (Bridget), Charlie and girlfriend Jules
During busy weeks, he was in the hospital about five days a week for six- to seven-hour infusions.
Mr Davies said his family, girlfriend Jules, who is also a nurse, and those close to him have been his support in the process.
“I had a really good support network that helped a lot,” he said. “I have a very close family, my mother and father were here throughout my chemotherapy.
“I was in the hospital almost all day from Monday to Friday and then had the weekend to recover and then continue on Monday.”
Fellow survivors also had a huge impact on his journey.
“I spoke to two men who had recently experienced the same thing as me,” said Davies.
“They helped a lot just by having someone to talk to who had undergone the exact same treatment regimen, to talk to about what you will and won’t encounter during chemotherapy and the whole process was a game changer.”
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Charlie’s mother (Bridget), Charlie, Charlie’s father (tbag), Ed (brother) and Polly (sister)
Mr Davies was unemployed while undergoing treatment.
“During the three tough months of chemotherapy, I was more or less out of work the whole time, so it was a little difficult at first to jump back in,” he said. “But I started working on it again and got a few mentions along the way.
“It will always be there, but it almost feels like a blur when you look back on it and you just go on with your life but get a check-up every few months.”
Mr Davies said whatever you are going through, it is always better to speak up.
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During busy weeks, Mr Davies was in hospital about five days a week for infusion days of about six to seven hours
“Whether it’s going through your mind or you’re physically ill, ask for help,” he said.
“Then just do the simple things, get up and go for a walk or try to do exercises that I tried to do on days when I was able to, just try to get some fresh air and get moving.”
It’s Mr. Davies’ turn now a mission to spread awareness and advocate for early detection.
A recent fundraiser on November 15 MC’d by Hamish Blake in support of the Australian and New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group (ANZUP) brought the local property industry and community together. The final fundraising total is $265,634.
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ANZUP fundraiser on November 15. Hamish Blake (MC), Charlie Davies, Dr Samantha Oakes (CEO, ANZUP) and Prof Peter Grimison.
“My oncologist at the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, he is one of the leading testicular oncologists around the world and he leads a lot of clinical trials and chemotherapy trials for people with metastatic disease, which is often quite difficult to treat,” Mr Davies said.
“I have a big focus on raising money to help that cause and for those five percent of people who go untreated and get a better outcome for them.
“If there is enough awareness for young guys to get checked and push for a scan, you should never be in that position to be in that five percent.”
Mr Davies is aiming to encourage young men to get checked before it is too late.
“If I hadn’t been misdiagnosed the year before, I probably never would have had to go through chemotherapy. I never thought it could be cancer,” he said.
“It’s just one of those things that I think every young man should know.
“If something is wrong, it is definitely better to have it checked and make sure.”
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