Always Look on the Bryce Side of Life; Bryce Tickner Spreads Men's Cancer Awareness on the WSOP International Circuit
It's Movember, and in addition to rocking an awesome handlebar moustache, one man at the poker tables of The Star Sydney doing his part to raise awareness of men's cancer is 63-year-old Bryce Tickner.
A regular on the Australian live poker circuit, Tickner has been playing poker since picking it up while serving in the Australian army from 1973-1979. With results dating back to 2007 on his poker tournament resume and close to US$72,000 in live winnings, Tickner is the very definition of your everyday working man recreational player.
Affable and surprisingly upbeat, the former opal mines inspector knows better than anyone the risks prostate cancer poses to men — Tickner was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer close to three years ago.
"My health troubles started five to six years ago. It’s been everything from getting diagnosed with a brain tumour leading to everything else - heart problems, a triple bypass operation and then a diagnosis of prostate cancer, and then subsequent treatment not being able to remove the cancer," said Tickner during a break in the $5k Challenge
"My point is, with men, it’s about being aware of prostate cancer, and not being scared of the doctor sticking a finger up your arse - because that’s not how they check for that these days."
These days, testing for prostate cancer is done via a PSA test — a simple routine blood test used to determine the measurement of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) concentration in the blood, it is the primary method of testing for prostate cancer. Your risk of developing prostate cancer increases with age, but that doesn’t mean it’s a disease that only affects old men. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide.
"I just talk to men about it, I do it at the poker tables every time, because I think that we need to be more aware [of the early symptoms and the need for a regular health check up], and there needs to be some more support, because there’s not really that much support for blokes."
"I tell them at the table: ‘don’t be a f*****g idiot, get checked’ and I’ve had guys come back to me and say ‘hey mate, thanks, I went to get checked and they found it early enough…’ Because if you don’t find it early, that's when you can get serious problems and there are no support groups."
"You’re starting to see on TV now about men's wellness, and I think one of the big poker companies, someone like PokerStars or someone, would be the perfect one to lead out in supporting men's cancer, promoting the risks of prostate cancer."
Tickner feels that the generally male-dominated world of poker is the perfect vehicle for promoting cancer awareness for men.
"When you come and play poker, you sit down at the tables, you discuss issues with the guys on your table. I know that I’m dying eventually, on my terms. Cancer is… I’ve had my treatment and I’ve got a bad one. I’ve been sliced open [operated on] five times, they can’t operate on me again or I’ll bleed to death on the table, so I can’t afford to get crook [sick]."
"With coming here for the World Series last year I caught Influenza A [the most serious type, linked with bird and swine flu], just because my immune system was weak after all the cancer treatment - I had to then get a pacemaker."
A former stand-up comic, Tickner used to perform in his home town of Melbourne in the early 2000's and has a refreshingly positive outlook on life, especially when you consider his condition, but to him, life is all about looking on the bright side.
"One thing I do suggest to all poker players - get a pacemaker, it’s great, it keeps your heart rate down, it always stays at 75 beats per minute, there are no jugular veins popping out when your playing, other players can’t get a read or tell on ya… [chuckles]."
"I’ve got two daughters, four grandkids, we’ve all accepted it and had our conversations about all this. I’ve already got my grave picked out, my coffin's already in Coober Pedy, everything is organized, now I’m just running amok and having fun. 90% of the people who get my diagnosis don’t usually last 12 months - I got my diagnosis over 12 months ago."
"I don’t want to harp on about it, I’m not looking for sympathy, but I do want to raise awareness about prostate cancer; any bloke I can find to talk to about prostate cancer I do it because it can help."
"I’m not the sharpest tool in the box when it comes to mathematics, but I don’t think you have to be, live poker is an everyday man’s game. I think this [the poker room] is the only place where a lot of blokes can come for their version of therapy, and they do - not just about cancer, but they can talk about wives, and/or girlfriends and daughters and sons. That’s why it’s [poker] good for blokes and it’s played worldwide. It can be more than just a game."
For more information on Movember and men's cancer awareness, visit au.movember.com and you can also visit the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia official website.
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