Episode 17 | Kris Tatt chats with Andrew Pearce, Director at Tweed Sutherland First National, about the importance of illness insurance to protect your family.
In this episode of the Enriched Wealth Podcast, Kris Tatt sits down with Andrew Pearce, Director at Tweed Sutherland First National, for a heartfelt and deeply honest conversation about career, resilience, and the moments that change your perspective on what really matters.
With more than 25 years in Bendigo’s real estate industry, Andrew shares insights from his professional journey — but also opens up about his recent cancer diagnosis, how it reshaped his mindset, and what he’s learned about life, family, and leadership along the way.
They discuss:
Building a long-term career in real estate — and staying passionate
Mentorship, mindset, and the importance of leading by example
The day-to-day rhythms that support consistency and clarity
Facing a life-changing diagnosis — and finding purpose in the process
Why contribution, connection, and community are the real measures of success
This episode is about more than business. It’s a moving reminder that wealth isn’t just financial — it’s found in the way we live, the people we impact, and the legacy we leave behind.
Transcript
Kris Tatt
In this episode we talked to Andrew Pearce from Tweed Sutherland.
We hear his journey through banking to real estate, his passion for helping people and importantly we hear his journey through cancer.
This is a important episode for anyone and everyone because we know that cancer touches all of us at some point in our life and to hear his journey, his diagnosis, his treatment and the importance of having insurance and your finances sorted or something happens.
The take home message here is just because you're feeling fine doesn't mean you are fine.
I hope that everyone is able to get something out of today.
Enjoy.
Welcome to the Enriched Wealth podcast.
Today we're excited to have Andrew from Tweet Sutherland, a partner at Tweet Sutherland Real Estate, Join us today and we're going to hear a bit about his story.
And so we're going to kick into it today.
So Andrew, welcome to the podcast.
Thank you for joining us today.
Andrew Pearce
Thank you, Chris for the opportunity.
Kris Tatt
No, no, this is exciting and looking forward to unpacking a few things.
Look, there's probably quite a few listeners out there who already know who you are, but would love to hear a bit of your story on how you got into real estate and, and just sort of what, what drew you to the profession and, and sort of what, because I know you haven't always been a real estate agent.
So there's, there's a bit of a journey there.
I'd love to hear a bit about what's going on there.
Andrew Pearce
So yeah, so I've spent 19 years with the ANZ Bank.
I always loved helping people, no matter whether it was finance or whatever it was.
And yes, you know, if I had clients and the interest rates were 13%, I'd always give them to them at 12 1/2%.
So for me it's about looking after people and just doing the right thing.
Then the opportunity came up to join real estate and I still feel the best thing is helping people sort of find their dreams and realise their dreams to get into a property and just do the right thing by people.
Kris Tatt
I love that and I think I think real estate is is such a special place because you are helping them with their dream house or you know, this is the family home and those kind of things as well too, aren't you?
It's not just, it's not just like selling a, a stock or selling, you know, something.
It's very personal, isn't it, at the end of the day?
Andrew Pearce
It is and sometimes it's not necessary about selling a house to them.
I find I'd rather someone say to me look Andrew didn't have the right house but in six months time they say he was fantastic to deal with.
So that's what I would prefer to do than people coming back and saying they bought a house that they didn't actually want.
Kris Tatt
Yeah.
And I, I love, I love that because I think there can be some bad labels put around salesman sometimes.
And, and not, not, not not saying anyone in particular, just these generalisations around all of that sort of things where this buys regret or something like that, where I think it's actually, if you, if people know that you're there to help, I think that's, that's the, that's really important.
Andrew Pearce
Yeah, I mean, reality is people don't normally like real estate agents, but we're out there to do a job and do the right thing.
Ultimately, 99% of us are doing the right thing by the clients.
Yes, no matter what industry you're working in, whether it's the police force or a different industry, you know, they're always going to be some people who aren't doing the right thing.
But yes, I find in Bendigo all the real estate agents are very, very ethical and they're good to deal with too.
Kris Tatt
And I think that's, that's a testament to you to say, to say that about your competitors and not just not just talk about yourself.
So I think I think that that's great.
What?
What is it that real estate had that banking didn't for you?
Andrew Pearce
What I find when you actually approve a loan for someone, they always say, oh, can we get it cheaper?
Or why are their fees where you don't really get a lot of thanks when you're in the bank.
In real estate, when you sell a house, hopefully the vendor is obviously very happy and a purchase is happy too.
So you normally would have two happy people in a transaction where in banking every everyone wanted it different or they wanted it free or they wanted it cheaper.
Kris Tatt
Yes.
And I think the banks in Australia, they're very well known, but they're sort of seen as a bit of necessary evil sometimes.
And people sort of just see it as a brand that they're not necessarily the people behind the brand trying to help them get the loan over the line or get a good deal on, on their interest rates and those kind of things where real estate.
It's a bit more personal that way, isn't it?
Nonetheless.
Andrew Pearce
So, so true.
So I started in the bank in 1985.
Wow.
And then I left in 2004 and you would have seen massive changes.
I did.
And it became very sort of oriented where you had to sell extra products.
So for me, it was actually doing the right thing by clients.
I even have clients now who contact me and say you were the best bank manager we ever had.
Kris Tatt
That's that's amazing.
And that is that is again, a testament to your character and the way you you deal with people.
And I think that's for those listening out there either early on in their career or thinking of a career change.
Just know that the goodwill that you give out, you will receive back in time I think is I think is so important.
And if you are helpful, that's how you'll be known, where if you're not helpful, I think people remember that as well too a lot of times.
Andrew Pearce
I have this story that I don't want to walk down the aisle at a Coles supermarket and someone walking the other way and I'm with my family and someone says, oh, there's that guy there who, you know, might have done something wrong.
I'm always mindful of, obviously as you walk in the community, how people sort of have a look at you.
Kris Tatt
Yeah, and you, you, you're actually quite involved in the community, aren't you as well too?
It's not just not just a job for you as a real estate agent, is it?
Andrew Pearce
True, so I actually donate from every sale personally to the Bendigo SES.
Yep, and I've just hit $40,000 that I've donated to them.
Wow at their Christmas BBQ, Just been two years ago.
I didn't realise but they actually unveiled on the back of their vehicles, thank you Andrew Pearce, which I didn't expect this and I didn't know what was going to happen, but they've done that just in a recognition of what I do for them.
Kris Tatt
Wow, and that is such a testament to your just that that ongoing goodwill back into the community and and yeah, the fact that yeah, that's that's great recognition as.
Andrew Pearce
Well, but, but you don't do it for any recognition at all.
If you, if you do it for recognition, it's, you're doing it for the wrong reason.
Do it because on Australia Day a couple of years ago, they had a display at Lake Waroona and they were just showing what they did.
And I emailed them and said, can I actually help you in any way?
And would you like to get a donation from every sale that I do do?
And that's how it started back in, I think 2017.
Kris Tatt
And there you go.
So and it's just, and, and no one would know about that, would they?
It's not unless there was the unveiling on the back of the trucks.
It was just, it was just you again, just playing your part in the community as well, which which I love.
Andrew Pearce
I like flying under the radar with that.
I don't, I don't want people to think, you know, I'm doing for any particular reason.
It's because it's just the 'cause that's probably close to me.
You never know if it's going to be a family or staff member or a friend who they're cutting out of the car is their next call out.
Kris Tatt
Correct and and not that we're here to talk everything real estate, but what what's been your experience in the Bendigo real estate because you've been how long have you been in the Bendigo area?
Now let's I mean.
Andrew Pearce
22 years and probably 2000 sales.
Kris Tatt
There you go.
So you, you, you've seen a lot and you've probably seen a lot of changes and we've had some interesting times over the last five years as well with COVID and everything as well too.
So where do you see the property marketing at the moment, Bendigo?
Just as a little tidbit before we get into some more of the other stories.
Andrew Pearce
So probably over the last 8 to 9 months, we've got a lot of buyers advocates and buyers agents purchasing for investors who are Interstate, OK.
We've found that probably the market has gone up around about 20% for certain price properties up to around about that 650 to 700 price range.
You have to look at this, if someone's insane Sydney and it's going to cost them a couple million to purchase an investment property, but they can buy one here for 6:50 or 600 or 700,000.
That's why we've got Interstate investors at the moment purchasing in Bendigo.
Kris Tatt
Because of the affordability and even with the land tax, which I think they thought would drive people away, I think prices now compared to some other areas, it still makes it attractive as an investment proposition, doesn't it?
Andrew Pearce
It does I I still have this philosophy that if your land tax is $1500 a year, it's not a lot of money.
And if you can't afford $1500 a year, maybe an investment property isn't the right option for you.
Kris Tatt
Good, good answer.
And I think that's that's one of the things for people to keep in mind is that you've got to give yourself buffers with all of this.
You can't just go, well, I think I can afford that and that's probably not the time to do it.
It's when you can comfortably afford that and know that if there's the hot water service breaks or something else happens, you've actually got the extra reserves that you need to to to put into looking after the property as well.
Andrew Pearce
Correct.
If you've got an investment property, you have to envision you're going to have some maintenance along the way.
Yes, you've got insurances and council rates and various things.
So yes, you need probably 5 to 10,000 just sitting away for those things that may crop.
Kris Tatt
Up Yep, just those rainy day items that that may happen yeah, at some point.
Thank you for sharing that, Andrew, I, I want to jump in for a little bit and talk about your story.
And, and some people know about your story, but want to talk about and, and this is probably another area where we, we touched on a little bit beforehand, but you were, you were diagnosed with cancer so a little while ago now.
So, so I want to talk through that experience for you and just a few things around that as well too, but want to sort of, let's start with the story.
You, you're going along healthy individual didn't think anything was wrong.
Is that correct?
Andrew Pearce
Correct.
I was a 54 year old.
I didn't think I had any issues.
Yep, I was attending the blood bank and donating and I got to the point where I was donating every two weeks.
I was donating plasma.
Yep.
Then I did a donation in.
It was the 6th of June 2023.
You remember these things and a week later I got a phone call from someone at the blood bank just advising me there was an inconsistency and they said I had a high paraprotein level.
I said I didn't even know what paraproteins were.
Kris Tatt
I'm not medical that I couldn't tell you that.
But and I guess this is one of the things that people need to be aware of is that if they're donating regularly and giving blood, which is probably another thing that that's just a great help for the community and probably that people aren't always aware of who is a donator.
But they also do cheques, don't they?
Because if they're going to put that blood into someone elses system, they need to make sure it's right and they need to make sure.
So even in that there's little health cheques along the way that people probably aren't aware of that would happen if they're donating, isn't there?
Andrew Pearce
So, right, so as I've learned now, every 12 months they check up on various things.
Yep.
And then if I wasn't donating, I would be in a completely different situation to I am now.
I would probably have lesions on my bones and my kidneys wouldn't be very good.
So it was really a life saving event by me donating to try and actually save other people's lives.
Kris Tatt
It saved yours at the same time.
Andrew Pearce
And so from there I had a full skeletal scan, had a bone marrow biopsy, still was oblivious to any of this I did not know.
And then on the 2nd of October, at 3:10 PM, my wife and I walked into the haematologist and we thought he was going to just tell me to eat some more green vegetables.
He looked me in the eye and he said you have an incurable blood cancer called multiple myeloma.
There's no cure, but there's a treatment.
Seven days later, I was sitting in my first chemo chair.
Kris Tatt
Wow, so we go from June, which is good, good lead time there.
So obviously quite a few tests through that.
As well too.
A lot of waiting and thinking and and probably thinking there's nothing wrong with me.
Did you feel unwell?
Andrew Pearce
No, not at all.
Kris Tatt
No, no symptoms whatsoever.
Even after they sort of made you aware there might be a problem, there was no sort of on now, now that you mention it, on.
Andrew Pearce
The interesting thing?
Yep, the night before my first chemotherapy session.
My haematologist has said I could ask him anything.
I still have an email.
I was actually ironing my shirts for work the next day and I sent him an email saying Are you sure about this?
I don't think you've got it right.
I don't want to start chemotherapy if this is not correct.
He sent me an email back saying please find attached the reports.
You have a high level of various things.
You start chemotherapy tomorrow, good luck with it.
And that was it.
Kris Tatt
And then obviously you, you start treatment, which is it's quite, quite a rigorous thing, isn't it, to go through the, the cancer treatment.
Andrew Pearce
So so my chemotherapy wasn't too bad.
So what I have found out after Googling there's about 110 different chemotherapies they have.
OK so so mine was OK.
Mine was actually injection every Monday and they'd give me dexamethasone.
Interesting thing is Tuesday was my honest day, so everyone at the office knew that I'd come in on a Tuesday and I'd tell them really, I'd tell them what I was thinking.
So it was very interesting.
I just would tell them my thoughts.
So I did.
I had 15 weeks of chemotherapy, then I which?
Kris Tatt
Is fairly fairly rigorous.
Andrew Pearce
Yeah, it was.
And then I had another chemotherapy called cyclophosphamide, which actually was getting ready for my stem cell harvest.
So I was very fortunate that I could actually harvest my own stem cells.
Went to Melbourne and they book in for a Monday, a Tuesday and a Wednesday collection of your stem cells.
On the Monday night you go back to your accommodation and then they ring you to tell you if they've harvested stem cells, if they haven't and how many.
So it's really that phone call you get which is going to tell you how the rest of your life looks like.
Unfortunately, I know someone who they didn't harvest any stem cells.
So you're not even back to square one, you're back to negative square 1.
So 5:20 PM my phone rang.
I looked at it.
I said to my wife, this is the call because we wanted to get 5 million stem cells.
Yep.
And they told me that I had harvested 8.3 million.
Wow.
And that's when you just go.
That's incredible.
Kris Tatt
Yeah.
Andrew Pearce
And then back to Bendigo, 5 more weeks of chemotherapy go to the Pedomac and I lived at the Pedomac for my stem cell transplant.
Kris Tatt
And how long did that take?
Andrew Pearce
So the stem cell transplant itself is really a quick process.
They bring them in a in a in dry ice in like AR2D2, sort of like device, yes, they wheel them in and then it was a quick procedure to actually get them back.
But I was down there for a couple weeks and they told me that I would crash in about Day 4 to 10.
I crashed in about Day 2.
So for many days I was just, I wasn't good.
And unfortunately there were days when I told my wife not to come and visit.
I didn't want my son, who at that stage was probably 12 years old or 13.
I didn't want him to come and see me how I was.
So I actually said to Terese, don't bring James down.
It's not something that I believed that he should see.
Kris Tatt
And that, that is, that is a hard thing, isn't it?
That the impact on family as well, too, because it, it's not just you going through it.
You've got your family who are going well, what's the future look like for us?
What, what's going to happen to dad or my husband?
And you know all of those things as well, too.
Andrew Pearce
So, so think of it, when you get your will out and you get your power of attorneys out and you put them in a plastic pocket and you give them to your wife and you say, I'm going to the Peter Mack.
I don't think you're going to need these, but here they are.
That's probably, you know, one of the hard things that you do and people don't think about that and they don't think about probably how it affects your family and how it affects your life.
Kris Tatt
So, so if we go back June 5th, Andrew, June 5th, 2023, Andrew felt like a normal person and no, nothing.
Get a phone call out of the blue because you've donated some plasma and it's come up with a bit of a problem By October, your world's looking very different, isn't it, in terms of treatment recovery, I assume there's lots of tests, a lot of time out of work.
Luckily, you, your, your partner tweets ulland so there's probably a bit of flexibility around that.
Not everyone probably has that necessary, that flexibility.
But Even so, your, your role is dependent on you being there to sell homes, to do those things, isn't it?
So there's a real, there's a toll not just on you, but on the business, on family.
There's there's a lot of different areas that people probably don't realise gets impacted by an event like this one.
They haven't done any planning, isn't there?
Andrew Pearce
Spot on.
And especially in a normal job, you'd take your time off and then someone else comes in and does your job and then you go away.
In real estate, you've really got, you know, three months or four months of actually properties and lead up time.
So as soon as you take your foot off the pedal, then you come back in 6 or 12 months, you're really starting from scratch.
So it is actually quite a unique.
Because in real estate you, it's not the snowball effect, it just keeps going and going, Yes.
But if you don't have that, really your income stops nearly the day you walk out.
Kris Tatt
Yeah, yeah.
So that has obviously has a big impact on finances then as well too.
So what did you have in place around that to sort of accommodate for something like this?
And I think there's probably a lot of people out there going, I'll probably need to go and check if I've got insurance or if I've got anything in place.
What, what did you actually have in place?
And we don't have to talk specific numbers, but more just the policies and and the ways that it it was able to cover you.
Andrew Pearce
So I was very fortunate obviously having Stratagem and the financial planners there.
And Yep, I dealt with Adam and he had set up some, some good policies, which they're the policies you never think you're going to need.
So people insure their car thinking they're never going to have an accident and they insure their house thinking it's never going to burn down.
So you don't really think about these life events and you might take out life insurance, but life insurance really that covers you when you're not even here.
It covers your wife.
And exactly.
And really the interesting thing I say to people, even before this event, I said you should cover your wife more, more so than yourself.
Yes, because ultimately if something happens to me, obviously your partner gets paid a lot of money, but if something happens to your partner, I have to keep working and look after a child.
So life insurance is something that people should think about, probably for their partner as well.
Kris Tatt
Yes.
And I think that's one of the big things we say is what position do you want to leave your partner in at the end of the day.
And we, I know I've gone through that with my wife and she, she, she's not, doesn't like getting too much into the financial details, but she just knows if anything happens to me, she's covered.
And she doesn't have to feel like she's forced to go back to work or forced to, you know, make significant changes to her life, you know, sell the house or take the kids out of school or things like that, that she knows that those things are there.
And I think that knowing that you're covered just helps to take one listing off the off the checklist or off the concern.
So yeah, that's that's very important.
So we had life.
But obviously life doesn't help when you're in the middle of treatment and everything else does it.
Andrew Pearce
So it it doesn't.
So I had another insurance called trauma insurance, which we're so fortunate that we had that unfortunately I probably should have insured for more.
Yep.
But you know, you always go through the thing.
It's never going to happen to me.
Yes, it's fine.
It's OK.
And you take it out.
Just really ad hoc to say, Yep, you've got it there.
Yep.
Admittedly, it was fantastic to have.
It was like a huge weight off our mind.
Kris Tatt
Yep, so So what happened so has the for listeners out there for the trauma.
So that that is a a lump sum, that of of money that gets paid to you in in in an event, isn't it?
So it could be cancer, stroke, heart attack.
In this case it was a cancer.
And so that, that claim that money, how, how quickly did that were you able to put in a claim for that, for that policy and, and get paid as well too?
Andrew Pearce
So in relation to to that, I had actually advised our advisor that there might be something happening.
Yep.
I didn't think there was something happening because I hadn't had any results.
I just said I'm having some, having some tests done.
Yep.
And then I actually had said to the advisor that on the 2nd of October I'm going to go and see, you know, the haematologist.
Kris Tatt
And everything's going to be fine.
Andrew Pearce
Everything's fine.
I didn't think of it.
Yep, I got a phone call probably the next day, just he wasn't checking up on anything to do with the policy, he was just checking up on how I was going and and what was.
He had no idea what the results were going to be.
Then we submitted a claim.
Yep, admittedly we were waiting on some tests and some forms from the hospital and from my haematologist.
Yep, even before I got those tests in and various things, the claim was paid out well.
So it was a very, very smooth.
Kris Tatt
Transaction it was a it was not immediate, but it was very quickly after that you were able to get the money, which then almost sigh of relief that you've now got this resource that you can draw on to travel if you need to stay in Melbourne, if you need to, you know, take time off work.
It's there to help cover.
Andrew Pearce
It correct, correct.
And it was really nice to know that my wife, if she needed to take her pedal off her work, yes, it was available that she could, you know, take some time off and not actually have to be affecting our finances and affecting the day to day things because, you know, she had a huge weight on her mind with me, me sick.
So it's actually wasn't just covering me, it's actually covering her and the family.
Kris Tatt
And I think too, in those moments, the thing you're thinking about is what do I need to do to get better?
You don't want to be thinking about, you know, well got to go back to work because we need to to, we can't afford not to be working.
If you've got the chance to focus on recovery, very important I would say.
Andrew Pearce
The interesting thing is when we took out the trauma insurance, in my head, I had heart attack.
I actually didn't think anything else.
Yep.
And then when you look at it, there actually are other events that do happen to people, Yes.
That you can claim on.
Yep.
So normally with a heart attack these days, you don't die.
Yes.
You survive a heart attack.
Yeah.
We're very fortunate with what we have in the medical industry.
Yes.
But there are other events that you don't even think about that trauma insurance does help you out.
Kris Tatt
And you've actually, you've actually claimed on it since then as well too, haven't you?
It wasn't that one event.
There's been one or two other instances as well where you've been able to access.
Andrew Pearce
I believe I've had one event for me.
Yep.
But alternatively, unfortunately, my wife actually was diagnosed with some skin cancers and we were able, or she was able to claim for skin cancers too.
So yeah, imagine telling a 12 year old that your dad's got myeloma and your mother has or your mum has Melanoma.
So it's just, it's not a great situation.
No, but you know, having a trauma insurance for myself and a trauma insurance for Therese, it does alleviate so much concern.
Kris Tatt
Yes, you just know, I know that if something happens, you've got it there.
Did you, was there any other insurances in play that you had as part of the treatment?
Was it income protection as well or no, no, no.
OK.
So and that's probably one for people to think about as well too.
Income protection, what does that look like?
Are you able to get it?
Not every industry, not every place can get it, but it's just another thing that's out there as well.
Andrew Pearce
Too instantly I did have income protection insurance and it was a fantastic policy from donkeys years ago and it would have covered me for life and then I did cancel about 18 months previously unfortunately.
Kris Tatt
Yep, and this is, and this is probably the thing for people to think about is that once you cancel it, you can't reinstate it, especially after after an event as well too.
So that that's it's thank you for being open about that.
But that is that I guess that's the thing for some people to think about is sometimes they just look at the expense as well too, don't they?
And think, do I need that?
And it's hard to, as you get older, all these things increase in costs and, and the cost of living just in general makes it hard.
But what's a lot harder is if you have an event and you don't have the coverage you need at that point in time.
Can we can we talk a little bit about so you we had it was so we're in October.
You've you've got the treatment.
Was that about three months?
I'm adding up that the time frames there.
So you've got basically a six month window there.
Then how long was it before you're able to return to work?
Andrew Pearce
So I had my stem cell transplant on the 21st of March and I had said to my employer said to work that I would take three months off.
I had looked at it and thought how long do I need off Now looking back, three months was definitely not enough.
I should have taken more.
I really should have, but I said I'm going to take off from the middle of March to the middle of June.
Yep, when I got out of my stem cell transplant, I wouldn't have been able to walk from here to the letterbox and back.
That's how fatigued and unwell I was.
Kris Tatt
It certainly takes a toll, doesn't it?
People probably don't give enough weight to how much your body can change and how much impact these things can have as well too.
On on on their normal day to day.
Yeah, I guess that's yeah.
Andrew Pearce
So I suppose when I came out of my stem cell transplant, because I used this as an analogy, they've just ripped everything out of me.
Yep.
I come back like a new baby unvaccinated.
So I had to have all my childhood vaccinations again.
Wow.
Measles, mumps, polio.
I cannot have those for 24 months because they're live vaccinations.
But I won't get into vaccinations because I know what some people will say.
Kris Tatt
No, that's right.
But it's probably just good feeling to be conscious of that.
It is, it's an ongoing process.
It's not just we do this and then then you're right again.
It's you got to think now of all the implications and the flow on effects from that as well too.
Andrew Pearce
So people have to realise what I have, multiple myeloma is an incurable cancer, so there is no cure.
I say with the greatest respect, if you have a prostate cancer, a breast cancer, they try and cut it out to get rid of it.
Yes, because it comes from my bone marrow and it's in my blood.
You can't cut it out.
So it is ongoing.
So for instance, this Friday I'll go into chemotherapy and sit there for an infusion for a bone strengthening drug because with multiple myeloma, your bones do disintegrate and breakdown and various things like that and you have lesions on your bones.
So it is ongoing.
It's, you know, every day.
I've probably had six blood tests in probably the last six weeks and it's medication, it's neuropathy in my feet.
It's various things that are ongoing.
And people say to me, Gee, you look so well.
I'm thinking sometimes I wish I didn't look that well because but it's.
Kris Tatt
You're doing well today.
Yeah.
But but yeah, I guess people don't, don't always aren't always aware of that, are they?
Because there's almost the initial diagnosis and everyone sort of reaches out and we're thinking of you.
But it's it's not, it doesn't stop in six months, does it?
It's an ongoing thing, Yeah, which it sounds like for yourself.
So there will never be a technical remission, will there?
This will just be a non.
Andrew Pearce
Hopefully there will be one day.
Hopefully there's not at the moment, Yep, there's various therapies that they're trialling overseas and there's car T cell therapy.
Yep, which that could nearly get you into full remission.
Wow, so my haematologist at my last bone marrow biopsy, they could only detect 0.0033% in my, in my bone.
Wow.
So my haematologist said you are as close as possible that we can call you in remission, but we're not allowed to call it remission because there is no cure.
So I'm doing extremely well.
I really, and I, and I thank, you know, the medical facilities and the fraternity for that.
We are so lucky in Bendigo that we have a branch of the Peter Mac.
They're incredible people and.
Kris Tatt
Obviously saves you a few trips, then you don't have to head down to Melbourne and those kind of things to to get the treatment you need.
Andrew Pearce
Spot on.
So most of my treatment is done here.
I'll go in there Friday for treatment.
There are times when I do go to Melbourne to visit my haematologist and for my transplant, yes, but we're like like Ward 5A haematology at the Peter Mac.
If I spoke about those wonderful people, I would cry.
Yes.
I met Justin from Texas who had brought his whole family over just so he could train and work at the Peter Mac.
Wow, there's Peter, people from New Zealand, from Ireland, so yeah, we're very lucky.
Kris Tatt
Yep, looking looking back on that time and I know it was probably a quite, quite an emotional time for you as well too.
But was, is there any insights now looking back on that, that you just that you go, I'm, I'm so grateful for this or I just wasn't aware of the impact on X&Y that people might if, if they're thinking I'm fine now, but is there things I can have in place that would make it a bit easier or a bit more, bit more ready?
Is there anything that you sort of look back on and go, if I hadn't known, I probably would have done this or that?
Andrew Pearce
Oh, definitely.
So really it's the insurances and the trauma insurances.
You have a amount that you believe you will need and that would cover you.
I had an amount that was really ad hoc and yes, I should have had more.
But it's an insurance that people take out thinking they're never, never going to need it.
It's a bit, but.
Kris Tatt
As you said, the house insurance, you never want the house to burn down.
You never hope that you actually need to call up and use it, but when it when it's there, staring you in the face, but you.
Andrew Pearce
Know listening to the radio, driving around, I think they say that is it 2 out of three people have a cancer in their life or two out of three families and things like that.
So it's now becoming more more prevalent, yes.
And I believe it's probably because there's so many better testing facilities and tests that are available.
So with multiple myeloma, let's say 20 years ago, unfortunately you wouldn't have survived very long.
Even now, 27% of people won't survive 18 months and 55% of people won't last five years with multiple myeloma.
So we're fortunate that it has progressed from 20 years ago.
Yes.
But yeah, back to your question, sorry about insurances.
Yes, take it as much as you can.
It's a bit like if you're going to have a car accident, you're going to take out the insurance.
Yes, we believe that probably most people at some stage in their family is gonna have a cancer.
Yep.
Which is, which is sad, but it's reality.
Kris Tatt
On a personal level, is there anything that yourself hadn't had prepared?
Did you have your wheels in place before all of this happened?
Did you have power of his attorney 'cause I know we talk a lot with clients about power of attorney because we go, the medical system's actually great at keeping you alive, but it's actually, you still have to get someone to come and deal with finances and all the other bits and pieces if you're not conscious.
So did you have all those other things in place and just thought, thought about that?
I mean, it's probably things people don't really think about unless they've been impacted by it, but.
Andrew Pearce
No, we were fortunate that we had.
Yep.
Interestingly enough, you asked that.
So my father was a solicitor.
He did wills and power of attorneys.
So near the end we actually checked he didn't have his own power of attorney.
So this is amazing.
So it's a bit like they say the.
Kris Tatt
Mechanic look it after their their own cars.
Andrew Pearce
Painters have the worst painted houses and mechanics have the worst cars.
But yeah, Dad didn't have those in place even though that was his job and he did that.
So it's a great question you asked.
But yes, we were fortunate that we had those in place.
But people don't realise how important they are too, like digressing.
So Mum passed away on Saturday unfortunately.
Kris Tatt
Which I am sorry to hear about.
Andrew Pearce
That's OK, but you know, having advanced care directors in place, it is so important because I was needing to make decisions in the end for her.
And when you have family involved, it can be challenging.
But yes, having those things written down is so much better.
Kris Tatt
Yes, And I think it's the things that you don't want to think about in the middle of a crisis.
But if you've got it already sorted, it just helps give a bit of clarity to everyone as well too, I think, which helps hopefully stop some of those fights if there's a bit of, well, we wrote it down and it was all clear, that's right and labelled out so.
Andrew Pearce
Yeah, no, we were fortunate we had we had those in place, but it's probably a good time to revisit those because we did them probably when James was born or soon after he was born.
Now he's about to have his 15th birthday coming up, so it's important to read the.
Kris Tatt
Photo of him the other day, he's looking very tall.
Andrew Pearce
He thinks he's taller than me and I will say that he's probably a tiny bit off me, but yeah.
And he's only 14 1/2 coming 15.
And you know, if people don't know, I'm about 194 centimetres.
So just think a 14 year old at 194 centimetres.
But has he?
Kris Tatt
Got basketball in his future.
Andrew Pearce
Yeah, No, no, he we're never going to be, you know, the parents that can retire on his basketball career.
But he loves basketball and that's the main thing.
Yeah.
Kris Tatt
That's good, very good.
In terms of looking, looking, looking back at pre that diagnosis and if you hadn't been giving blood, do you think, do you think this would have been caught at all before it was too late?
Or do you feel like if you hadn't had that, that trigger it, it's just there wouldn't have been anything there?
I guess I'm sort of getting to the thing of people need to be getting check UPS on a regular basis.
People need to be feeling fine does not mean you are fine.
Andrew Pearce
That's a great question.
So it's actually something that I asked the haematologist.
So on the 2nd of October, 3:10 PM, and this is sort of entrenched in my brain, yes.
I said to him if I wasn't donating blood, what would have happened and how long before we would have known.
Now we don't, we never know the answer to that.
But he anticipated that potentially within six months, I would have actually probably had lesions on my bones.
So normally with multiple myeloma, people have a bad back or they have a sore back, they go to the doctor, they don't know what it is.
And then it's a number of months or years, then they, you know, probably try the physio and then they eventually find out they have multiple myeloma.
So with me, mine was a reverse.
I actually was feeling well, I didn't know there was an issue, and then I ended up being diagnosed.
Kris Tatt
And it was the markers in your blood that was the only thing that picked it up, so.
Andrew Pearce
And the interesting thing is that my my first chemotherapy session, I walked into the waiting area and you know, there's various people there and someone came out and said, look, how are we all today?
I burst into tears because it was interesting.
I was sitting there feeling like a well person.
I was about to have chemotherapy to stop me getting unwell, but people were there having it to get themselves better.
So it's a very interesting concept of someone going in who believes that they're well to have chemotherapy.
Kris Tatt
Yeah.
And that would, and it's, it was probably hard mentally to process that I would imagine.
And based off your email that you said to the haematologist, not before you were still almost in denial that we are we sure we're doing, we're doing the right thing and you don't sort of want to have invasive medications if you don't need them like chemotherapy.
But I can understand that, that what would be almost a struggle in the mind just going is this real?
Am I really?
Actually, yeah.
Andrew Pearce
It's interesting because when he replied back to me and he said you know, you've your chemotherapy starts tomorrow, probably good luck with it.
Now.
It wasn't quite that harsh because I love my haematologist and he told me to stand in the corner on my head.
I would.
Kris Tatt
Yep.
Andrew Pearce
So it was, it was quite interesting that when I got that email from him, I actually replied to him and said, Teresa said, I'm in denial.
So exactly what you said, that's what I emailed back to him.
But yeah, I cried at my first chemotherapy sessions.
I did.
I'll admit that.
I had tears rolling around my face because I went back to work and I said to someone, I can't believe I've just let them put a poison into my body.
Yeah.
The best thing anyone ever said to me, they said, no, You have to think of it as an elixir for life.
So every time I went for chemotherapy, I would have in my head, I need this and it's an elixir for life because without it, yes.
Kris Tatt
Yeah.
And do you, do you find that positive mindset helps?
Because I think a lot of people get these diagnosis and it can feel like it's the end of the world.
But if you're not not going into it going, you know what, I can get better.
I can, I can get the right treatment.
I've got great doctors.
We can get through this.
If you don't have that mindset, I actually think it's can be detrimental to your recovery as well.
And you've probably probably been told that and seen that first hand, I would imagine.
Andrew Pearce
Yeah, because they say stress and various things like that can be detrimental.
So with mine I've had people say to me why are you so positive?
And I say well what else is there to do?
You know, I can sit in a corner and cry.
Admittedly the first night at the Peter Mac when Teresa and James had visited and they drove back to Bendigo, I sat on my bed in my 3 metre by three metre room and I sat on the edge looking out to Melbourne and I cried and I sort of said why me?
The only time I've ever done it.
And then I woke up on the Sunday morning, the next one I said you can't do that again Andrew.
So since then, I have been probably very good in a mindset and I've even had people sort of ask me personal questions and we've ended up, you know, they're going through a tough time in their life and they've asked me about mine and then we've ended up hugging because I have helped them is what they're happening in in their personal lives.
Kris Tatt
That's beautiful.
I love that.
And yeah, and just the fact that you have that in your mind, you just drew a line in the sand and said, you know what, going forward, I need to, I need to need, need to be positive and need to need to work out how to fight this.
And I think there's just, I feel just even talking to you, there's just a sense of gratitude in, in terms of being able to capture it early, being able to get onto the treatment, being able to actually do the right things.
The fact that we've got specialists in Australia that can actually help with that.
Yeah.
Is is would make all the difference at the end of the?
Andrew Pearce
Day I I do say that there will be a day when I become unwell or when I become extremely unwill.
And I believe my mindset may change at the moment because I feel good and I'm doing the right things and I hardly have.
I have a small amount in my my bones and my blood at the moment.
Yep, I actually am very positive.
But down the track we don't know.
So I've had my first line of treatment.
When that fails, you have a second line of treatment.
Then when that fails, you have a third line of treatment.
So there are treatments that hopefully won't be needed, but we never know what happens down the track.
Kris Tatt
OK.
Well, thank you.
Thank you for sharing that.
Is there anything, is there anything for listeners that you think they need to be?
We've talked about a few things already, but is there anything else that you think listeners need to be aware of or conscious of as they're probably going to their day to day thinking I'm fine or there's, there's, there's probably nothing wrong with me.
Although I think there's probably a few people now thinking maybe I need to book in with that doctor and just get that that check up is, is there anything that you, you, you any message you'd like to give them around it or, or things to think about?
Andrew Pearce
I think the important thing at certain ages, which I believe it's over 50, you know, you get that bow screening in the mail and people go, we don't want to do it, it's invasive or they don't want to obviously do what you need to do and they throw it in the bin.
I think doing those tests is very important.
And also talking about colonoscopies and various things like that.
I used to be on a five year colonoscopy plan because of some family history years ago.
The Peter Mac have said to me, now you have one cancer, you're more susceptible to other cancers.
So now I'm on a three year colonoscopy plan, going to your doctor and probably every year when he asks you, you have that regular blood test and various things, you know, go there and do it because admittedly I'm probably due to go back to him again, but you know, I haven't recently because of the things going on.
But I think just being aware that don't be scared of having those tests.
Some of those tests aren't very nice.
But I had a colonoscopy recently.
Yep.
And I'm going to share this with you.
That's right.
Yeah.
Everyone hates that.
Prep for it.
And I don't know if you've had one.
And I don't need to.
I don't need to know.
Kris Tatt
I've heard the prep, so that's fine.
Andrew Pearce
So I went into the hospital on the day and I said to the nurse, I said probably everyone's complaining about the prep.
I said seriously.
I said when you've had a stem cell transplant, that prep for a colonoscopy is a walk in the park.
So really, I mean, I won't even get into it, but yeah.
Kris Tatt
Yes, it's, I think it's all that respect, but I think too little bit a little bit of pain, yeah, could mean long term gain.
So yeah, it's sometimes you just got to put put your pride aside a little bit and just say, you know what, this is for the greater good and for me to be around for the long term not.
Andrew Pearce
And I know if people have actually had that test done, it went away and it wasn't good news.
Then they went to their doctor and had investigated.
Unfortunately, they did have, you know, a cancer, so people think it's never going to happen to them.
Yes.
I've had no idea this was going to happen to me.
I was sailing along as a 54 year old, free as anything, going to the blood bank and.
And suddenly your world's turned around.
But yeah.
But another interesting thing is someone that you and I know I'm not going to mention them.
One of their nieces needed a a bone marrow transplant about 8 or 10 years ago, right?
And I heard about it and I actually went to put my myself down on the bone marrow register.
But unfortunately that stage, I was too old to.
And then I suddenly become down the track.
I then was a plasma and a blood donor.
I have now become a recipient of of those products.
So if people can put their name down as a donor for anything, do it.
Yeah.
You're saving someone else's life.
Kris Tatt
Yep.
And I think that that is a beautiful, beautiful message.
So, Andrew, I wanna, I wanna thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story.
I wanna thank you for everything that you've talked about.
I think it's so important for people to be aware of that.
Things can change dramatically very quickly and, and you might not be aware of it.
We've, I've got someone that, that I know that that's going through it at the moment.
And it was, it went from feeling fine to being in hospital feeling fine on that Friday, in hospital on the Sunday.
And they're world changing as well too.
So it is.
It is just something that can happen very quickly that you might not be aware of.
Andrew Pearce
So probably the last thing I'd say to people is do it before an event happens, yes.
So when the event happens, there is no going back.
So do it prior to even though you you don't think you need it, but having it in place can actually make your family and your world so much easier.
Kris Tatt
And I think when the human mind doesn't like thinking about the bad things that happen, but put yourself there for a minute and get your insurances sorted, get your will sorted, get all those things done, then you breathe a lot easier because you don't have to.
Your mind's not worrying about the what ifs, you know if that happens, I have that sorted, which means more time to spend on recovery, more time to actually get the treatment I need and do the things that will actually help help get thrilled as well you.
Andrew Pearce
Know I totally agree.
Kris Tatt
Yep, Andrew, thank you so much for joining us today.
Thank you for sharing your story and I really appreciate it.
And yeah, look, look forward to hearing the success stories going forward as well too.
But thank you for today.
Andrew Pearce
Thank you, Chris.
No worries.
