17 June 2025
The Journey of Leaves: Turning over the realities of living with advanced metastatic prostate cancer
Ian Boyd, a member of the Prostate Awareness and Lifelong (PALS) Prostate Cancer Support Group in Adelaide, was diagnosed with advanced metastatic prostate cancer in February 2020.
He’s now written a fictional story, The Journey of Leaves, based on his experiences to help other men grasp the realities of a prostate cancer diagnosis, both for themselves and their families.
“This book was written to be read by men and women, highlighting the profound and often unnoticed impact of prostate cancer on men’s partners after diagnosis.
“I read many books on prostate cancer, but I wasn’t able to find any that addressed the emotional toll of an initial prostate cancer diagnosis,” Ian said.
After his diagnosis, Ian quickly started hormone therapy, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, leading to a temporary dormancy of his cancer.
In August 2022, however, unrelated scans revealed a 25mm tumour in his liver, which a biopsy identified as a neuroendocrine variant.
After undergoing multiple treatments, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and various other medications, the tumours have now spread to his lungs and become more active in his bones.
Ian is now participating in a clinical trial for a new targeted chemotherapy technique as he strives to live his best life.
“Most books I’ve found on cancer are non-fiction that focus on treatments, nutrition, and what I would call generic mental health,” he shared.
“I thought that by painting my own experiences alongside my wife’s experiences, it might shed light on what could be happening in the lives of those dealing with cancer, rather than pushing it back into the shadows.”
Ian said that prostate cancer is still very much perceived as being an ‘old man’s disease’.
“An increasing number of young men are being diagnosed every day, and we need to address the different challenges,” he said.
“Prostate cancer can either bring people together or tear them apart. As a cancer patient, I was forced to embrace change. Men diagnosed with prostate cancer need people around them who are not afraid of whatever choices they are forced to make.”
Ian hopes this book helps men living with prostate cancer feel comfortable in their lives, regardless of how treatments alter their physical and mental attributes.
Ian said joining the PALS Prostate Cancer Support Group also helped put his life and own prostate cancer diagnosis into perspective.
"Hearing about the challenges faced by other men puts your own life into perspective,” Ian said.
“I think that alone provides more hope and courage to newly diagnosed people than you can ever get from a pamphlet.”
The Journey of Leaves is available at any major online book retailers listed in the following link: https://books2read.com/journey-of-leaves.
Adelaide residents can also buy a copy from Shakespeare’s Bookshop in Blackwood.
