Kintsugi Heroes
Paul Tredinnick · 78 min
Days after walking his daughter down the aisle, Paul Tredinnick was handed a cancer diagnosis and a termination letter — and chose to respond with forgiveness, small acts of kindness, and an unshakeable commitment to family.
Three days after walking his daughter down the aisle, Paul Tredinnick received two pieces of news that would reshape his life. His doctor called about elevated prostate cancer markers. A week later, his employer terminated his role immediately after he disclosed the diagnosis. Within months, he learned his cancer had a Gleason score of 9 out of 10, indicating aggressive growth. He faced the darkest moment when doctors suggested he might have five years to live. Then the PET scan showed the cancer was contained, and surgery became possible.
What pulled Paul through was not denial, though his mind tried that at first. It was a deliberate choice to stay in life when everything in him wanted to withdraw. He forced himself to keep training, to show up for dinners he didn't want to attend, to lean on his wife, his children, his faith, and his closest friends. He had robotic prostate surgery while simultaneously selling the family home. He moved to the Northern Beaches with his wife, a dream deferred that suddenly felt urgent. He began a new job, hopeful and still healing.
But what shaped Paul most was not the surgery or the diagnosis itself. It was remembering what had shaped him as a child: the small acts of kindness he could never forget. A nurse who sat with him during a rugby league match. A teacher who came in for lessons. Moments of time given freely. Now, recovering and rebuilding, Paul is channelling that understanding into Acts of Kindness, a movement focused on tiny gestures done with care for others. He knows that small things, done with intention, can shift how people treat each other.
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Kintsugi Heroes · Registered Australian not-for-profit · kintsugiheroes.com.au ↗