Kirk Pengilly epitomises Australian rock and roll, but as the guitarist found out – even rock stars need a helping hand from their wife.
“We got the news the day before we flew to New Zealand for a 10-day wine and food extravaganza in February. It came in an email,” Kirk told The Daily Telegraph.
The dad-of-one was shocked he discovered he had an aggressive form of prostate cancer via email and soon replaced the specialist.
“I managed to get onto him in the morning at the airport as we were leaving. I hadn’t spoken to him and he said, ‘look, the only option is to remove the prostate’,” the musician revealed.
He added: “so the whole time we were in New Zealand, every bottle of wine was my last hurrah, every meal was my last hurrah.”
For surfing champ Layne Beachley, who married Kirk in 2010, this was a battle she shared with her husband, “It was an emotional rollercoaster, and a mental one. I think we were both in denial for the first few days.”
Sharing this burden meant that even Layne felt overwhelmed at times, “there was a day in new Zealand in February when Layne just burst into tears,” Kirk told the newspaper.
The Dancing with the Stars alum added about her husband: “I noticed when he got caught in his own challenge… during the bad days Kirk just accepted he was having a bad day.”
After a successful surgery earlier this year, the duo got the good news that follow up chemo or radiation would not be required.
Now though, the Aussie rocker is working his way to a clean bill of health, “it’ll probably take 12 to 18 months for everything to be absolutely normal again,” he explained.
For Kirk, it’s now a matter of focusing on taking the right medication and seeing the physiotherapist to work on his bladder control.
Like most prostatectomy patients, the Sydney-sider is required to take daily Viagra.
Kirk and Layne’s relationship has flourished in adversity, and it seems the pair took the “in sickness and in health” part of their vows seriously.
Sending lots of love and support to the inspiring Australian couple!
