Breast cancer diagnosis left Paul Maley fearing for his kids
A father of four, Maley was a NBL star, winning a championship with North Melbourne Giants. His daughter Anneli is also an elite basketballer, had just signed a WNBL injury replacement deal with Chicago Sky and was on the verge of a contract with Perth Lynx.
Anneli was preparing to fly to Chicago from Vienna after representing Australia at the 2023 3x3 World Cup when Paul was diagnosed. She instantly withdrew from Training Camp and came home.
Doctors explained to Paul that about one per cent of the 21,000 Australians who are diagnosed with breast cancer each year are men. Then they asked him to do a test to see if the cancer was genetic.
'Because it is rare, they wanted me to do a genetic test because a mutation to the BRCA gene could explain it,' Maley said.
'If I had that mutation, then all of my kids would have a 50 per cent chance of having the same thing which means they would have had to get tested. If Anneli was positive, she would have had to have a double mastectomy and that caused me huge anxiety. That really scared me. Fortunately that test came back negative.' Anneli Maley with her dad Paul. Credit: James Worsfold / Getty Images
Maley is the ambassador for Sunday's Pink Lady match between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs at the MCG and Demons veteran Jake Melksham will have his name on his uniform.
This will be the 21st year of the Pink Lady game and fans can purchase a virtual place on the pink lady symbol for $25 as Breast Cancer Network Australia aims to raise $150,000.
While Paul was worrying about his kids, Anneli said her only concern was that her dad survived.
'My biggest fear wasn't for my future self or the boys' future self, it was for him,' she explained.
'Even when he was talking about getting the genetic testing done, I was saying that I didn't care because I wanted him to finish his chemo so he could be healthy. It wasn't until a few months later that I was able to process and it and realise that I am blessed that I didn't have to deal with carrying the BRCA gene. Paul Maley celebrates with daughter Anneli. Credit: supplied
'But it doesn't mean I will stop getting checked. I still go once a year like I'm supposed to. As a female and knowing the statistics, I am going to get checked.'
And that's the biggest message Paul wants men to understand. As a man, and a former star athlete, he always avoided going to the doctor.
But this time, he understood the urgency and said racing to the doctor may have saved his life.
'I was lucky,' he said.
'I was laying in bed and rolled over trying to get comfortable, put my right hand in my left arm pit and then I felt a lump.
'I've been waiting to get another clean out of my knees for 20 years. I don't usually go to the doctor. But that felt wrong, so I went to the doctor the next day. If I hadn't, it could have been a very different prognosis. If you're a bloke and notice anything different, get it checked.'
www.pinkladymatch.com.au
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