Surf writer Tim Baker was in his early fifties when he was riding a very good wave in his life.
He had a job he loved as a surfing writer, a beautiful family, and he lived within walking distance of the beach.
But on a work trip to L.A. Tim began to need to use the 'rest room' a lot more than usual.
Back in Australia, he went to see his doctor, then an oncologist who gave him some terrible news. He had Stage 4 prostate cancer and it had spread to his bones.
Tim has written a candid account of living with cancer, and some of the grim and rarely spoken about side effects of his life-saving hormone therapy; effects which have profoundly changed his identity and his relationships.
Further information
Patting the Shark is published by Penguin.
Original broadcast August 2022
2023 Update
Tim writes that a year after this conversation, he is in "robust health", has a new job teaching journalism at Bond University, and is still surfing "heaps".