Applecross cancer survivor will participate in Prostrate Cancer Foundation of Australia’s Save a Man Challenge

But now that he’s a cancer survivor himself, the Applecross father-of-three understands all too well what they were all trying to say.

‘It’s not until you are faced with what you may lose that everything becomes clear,’ he said.

Once caught up in a busy corporate career, the home-based real estate agent has not missed one of his children’s school assemblies or honour certificate presentations.

He puts the change down to knowing how close he came to losing his life to prostate cancer.

‘My doctor said if I hadn’t come to see him when I did, I would have had about three years to live. That was three years ago.’

Mr Daddow was 42 when he was tested by his doctor after his father, then aged 64, was diagnosed with cancer.

He is leaving for Tanzania on November 1 where he and five others will climb Mt Kilimanjaro as part of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia’s Save A Man Challenge.

In addition to the $53,000 the team has already raised, Mr Daddow is passionate about raising awareness of the cancer that accounts for about 30 per cent of cancer diagnoses each year in Australian men.

But an important part of his message is that when compared to other cancers, prostate cancer has one of the highest five-year survival rates after diagnosis of 92 per cent.

Mr Daddow said men should be tested regularly and not fall back on the attitude of not wanting to know if something bad was happening.

‘If you do find out you have prostate cancer, you know what, you have to face it and you can do something about it,’ Mr Daddow said.

‘For some reason, it doesn’t sit on people’s radars ” there is so much out there to be afraid of.’

Mr Daddow also keeps fit through a weekly routine of four one-hour personal training sessions, one hour-long spin (stationary bicycle) class, three 30-minute swims and two or three 8km hikes each week, including at Wireless Hill.

He has been concentrating on improving his lung capacity to cope with the effects of altitude as he climbs and descends the 5895m mountain over eight days.

Visit https://saveamankilimanjarochallenge.everydayhero.com/au/keith-daddow to donate to the cause.