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Legendary Actor In 'End Stage Renal Failure': Jack Thompson Was 'Days Away From Death' Before Starting Dialysis
Australian actor Jack Thompson shared a grim update on his health this weekend. The 84-year-old appeared on Channel Seven's Spotlight on Sunday, where he explained how his battle with prostate cancer led to kidney disease. He even revealed that he was just days away from death when doctors prescribed dialysis treatment.
"I'm in end stage renal failure, on dialysis," Thompson said. "Dialysis keeps me where I am, on this side of the ground. I'm very grateful for it. When I was diagnosed, my wife said to the nephrologist, 'Is there an alternative to dialysis?' And he said 'Well, Mrs. Thompson, you can have a dialysed Jack or you can have a dead Jack.'" While Thompson's news was dire, he maintained a sense of humor about it, referring to dialysis as "that friendly robot behaving as a kidney."
Dialysis is a type of renal replacement therapy that allows a machine to carry out the normal function of the kidneys – removing excess water and toxins from the blood. It is typically prescribed for patients with an acute kidney injury or with chronic kidney failure at stage 5. It is often a temporary measure for those awaiting a kidney transplant, but it can also be a permanent solution for those who cannot get a full transplant.
Thompson has already been receiving dialysis for some time. In 2019, he discussed how the treatment impacted his shooting schedule for the movie High Ground. He told ABC: "I would finish the day of filming around six o'clock and go to dialysis. Finish about midnight, get to sleep about one [o'clock], get up again about five o'clock the next morning and back to filming. But I was a very happy man doing that."
Thompson is an icon in Australia, best known for movies like Sunday Too Far Away (1975), The Club (1980) and The Man from Snowy River (1982). To international audiences, he is likely most recognizable for playing Cliegg Lars in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. He is the husband of Anakin Skywalker's mother and father of Luke Skywalker's Uncle Owen.
Outside of his work, Thompson has a unique place in Australian pop culture, for better or worse. He was the first male model to pose for a nude centerfold in the country in 1972. His personal life has also raised some eyebrows – in 1969, then-29-year-old Thompson entered into a polyamorous relations with then-20-year-old Leona King and then-15-year-old Bunkie King. Bunkie left the relationship in 1985 and became estranged from Thompson and her sister, while Leona and Thompson remained together and had a child.
Thompson is still working today, with the new movie Runt out just last month in Australia. The actor shows no signs of slowing down for age or dialysis.
How To Self-Advocate For Advanced Prostate Cancer
If you're living with advanced prostate cancer, you've probably heard others tell you to "advocate" for yourself. But just what's involved in being a self-advocate? It means taking an active role in your care by listening, learning, asking questions, and connecting with others.
Being your own advocate doesn't mean taking sole responsibility for your cancer treatment. Instead, it helps put you in a team mindset and learn that you're a key part of your health care team. When you take an active role in your prostate cancer treatment, you help make sure that you're getting the care that works best for you.
Learn About Your ConditionUnderstanding your cancer and its treatment can help you deal with the emotional rollercoaster that can go along with managing the disease.
"Often, when people are diagnosed with prostate cancer, they feel powerless and shocked," says Ramdev Konijeti, MD. He's the director of the genitourinary cancer program at Scripps MD Anderson Cancer Center. "But education is information, and information is power."
Your doctor or clinic should be able to point you to the best resources for understanding your cancer better. In general, websites that end with .Gov, .Org, or .Edu, or cite their sources, will have the most reliable information.
"As with any large body of information, you can find misinformation," Konijeti says. "There is plenty of available public information about prostate cancer that minimizes the impact of the disease or that inappropriately magnifies the impact of the disease."
Murray Wadsworth, 63, says he became a "patient detective" after his advanced prostate cancer diagnosis 6 years ago. "I had to learn how to look for clues and get rid of everything that wasn't right for me," he says. "I say 'patient detective' because I want to remind myself I am just the patient. I don't want to get ahead of the doctors too much."
Some websites that can help you learn more include:
You might feel nervous asking medical experts for more information, better explanation, or even a second opinion, but it's your right to find out as much as you can about your cancer and treatment.
A good medical team should welcome your questions, Konijeti says. "The overwhelming majority of physicians who care for patients with prostate cancer understand the complexity of your experience and they want to help."
Keep a list of concerns to help you remember what you want to ask in each visit. Some things you might want to know include:
"Understanding where you fit on the spectrum of the disease, how treatment may or may not affect you, and how that plays into your overarching life goals is extremely important," Konijeti says.
For Wadsworth, it was important to understand exactly what he was facing, in plain language.
"There were lots of terms thrown around like 'undetectable' and 'recurrence' and 'relapse' and 'no evidence of disease,'" he says. "So I would ask very specific questions, like, 'Can I be cured?' I needed them to cut to the chase and tell me: What does all this mean?"
Connect With OthersMany communities have local prostate cancer support groups, organized either by patients or health professionals. These groups can be useful for getting to know others who may also have gone through diagnosis and treatment.
Wadsworth says he discovered several prostate cancer groups on social media. "I've actually learned from a few men by reading what they post and dialoguing with those who are further down the road than I am with recurrence."
Wadsworth and Konijeti caution that while these groups can be a great way to build community, they can sometimes lead to misinformation.
"Prostate cancer is a very heterogeneous disease and not everyone shares similar experiences," Konijeti says. "And treatment for prostate cancer is not necessarily 'one size fits all.' Just as the disease exists on a spectrum, so do the treatments. The choice for, or intensity of, treatment can often depend on the degree of aggressiveness of the disease."
So as a general rule, groups are great for emotional support, relationships, shared stories, and advice, but rely on the counsel of medical experts when it comes to risks, benefits, and alternatives to screening and treatment.
Essa Ends Prostate Cancer Bid, Seeks Strategic Options
Shares of Essa Pharma Inc. Tanked Nov. 1 after the company said it is terminating all trials of masofaniten, its N-terminal domain androgen receptor inhibitor and sole clinical-stage program, following a disappointing readout from a phase II study in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. The stock (NASDAQ:EPIX) hit a 52-week low, closing at $1.40, down $3.80, or 73%.
BioWorld Clinical Cancer Small molecule U.S.
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