Meet Graham, known as ‘Spy’. He’s the guy who made snowboarding a global sport in New Zealand. He’s also the guy that beat aggressive prostate cancer, with the support of Southern Cross Health Insurance.
Meet Graham, known to his friends as Spy. He’s a legendary athlete who made snowboarding a global sport in New Zealand and, later, beat aggressive prostate cancer with his trademark determination. In his early 40s, Spy made a habit of getting wellness checks, but when a blood test came back with high PSA levels, he took action.
Despite a reassuring initial exam, a second test revealed something was off, prompting him to explore his options via his Southern Cross policy. Within days, he was seeing a urologist, who discovered a significant tumour. "Babe, I’ve got cancer, but it’s going to be okay," Spy told his wife, Laura, as he processed the news. He quickly booked surgery, determined to face the fight head-on.
Spy didn’t just survive; he attacked his recovery with the same energy he put into sports. He stopped drinking, focused on getting healthy, and set new goals – snowboarding, motorcycling, and more. As Laura explained, “Watching him that weak, who’s usually the strongest person in the world, was really tough.” But Spy wasn’t done. After surgery and radiotherapy, the cancer was gone. “Only Spy could do that – ace it,” Laura said. Spy’s final word of advice? " What I’m going through could happen at 30. It may not be cancer; it could be any medical condition. So if I was going to talk to me as a 30-year-old, I would say get insurance because you never know what’s around the corner."
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*Not all benefits are available on all Southern Cross Health Insurance plans. You can check our policy documents to see what each plan covers. Graham has the Wellbeing Two plan.
Southern Cross Medical Care Society (trading as Southern Cross Health Society) is a licensed insurer and a licensed financial advice provider. For more information about the financial advice service we provide and a copy of our public disclosure statement please visit southerncross.co.nz/disclosure-statement.
Southern Cross Medical Care Society (trading as Southern Cross Health Society) has an A+ (Strong) financial strength rating given by Standard & Poor’s (Australia) Pty Limited. The rating scale is: AAA (Extremely Strong), AA (Very Strong), A (Strong), BBB (Good), BB (Marginal), B (Weak), CCC (Very Weak), CC (Extremely Weak), SD or D (Selective Default or Default). Ratings from ‘AA’ to ‘CCC’ may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories. Full details of the rating scale are available at www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/about/intro-to-credit-ratings. Standard & Poor’s is an approved rating agency under the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2010.
