Having discovered his passion for winemaking back in 2007 Bob soon started to make his own entirely, with dreams to market and sell his produce properly. However in 2009 Bob was given the devastating news that he had metastatic prostate cancer, which doctors failed to pick up on not once but twice. With his prostate cancer incurable, Bob decided to battle on creating the Susan & Robert Hollander Foundation which has gone on to fund an impressive list of trailblazing researchers looking at different approaches to curing prostate cancer.
Sharing his story with Express.co.uk, Bob said this about his diagnosis: “I think it was sort of an emotional turning point in my life.
“I can still tap into childlike euphoria, but it takes a lot.
“Three of the ugliest pairs in the English language have to be metastatic cancer, palliative therapy and my oncologist.
“But faced with that and recognising that things could be a lot worse I tried to do something positive out of this whole messy situation.
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“I was trying to do good with something I loved. Or, if you prefer, instead of lemonade from lemons, wine from grapes. And, some pretty excellent wine, at that.”
From here Bob created 2redWinery which has gone on to produce award-winning Zinfandels and Syrah-based and Rhone-style blends.
Despite having gone through such a tough health ordeal, from being told “it’s all good” from multiple doctors to then being told he has incurable cancer, Bob is hoping to make a difference to other people’s lives.
One of the organisations that have recently benefited from a donation from the Hollander Foundation is the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre.
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Dr John K. Lee, who studies advanced prostate cancer at the centre commented: “I was a recipient of a very generous gift from the Hollander Foundation to advance our research on prostate cancer.
“Specifically trying to use artificial intelligence to study the genomes of prostate cancer to try to find out which ones are lethal.”
Currently in the UK there are 52,254 new cases of prostate cancer each year. This means that one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime.
Starting in the prostate gland, which is found at the base of the bladder, there are different forms of prostate cancer that can develop. These are known as localised, locally advanced and metastatic.
The most common place for prostate cancer to spread to is the bones. However, it can also spread to the lymph nodes, liver and lungs and other organs. If there is a relatively large tumour in the prostate gland, it can spread into or press on areas around the prostate, such as the back passage or urethra.
It is important to note that advanced prostate cancer cannot be cured by treatment, but it can help keep it under control and manage any symptoms. Those who have just been diagnosed may be offered chemotherapy, hormone therapy or a combination of both.
Research has found that having radiotherapy together with one of the main treatments listed above can help some men with advanced prostate cancer to live longer. But radiotherapy isn’t suitable for all men with advanced prostate cancer.
Once on treatment, individuals will usually have regular PSA tests, in order to check how well treatment is working and see if the cancer is affecting anywhere else in the body. Over time, the cancer may change and it may start to grow again. In this case further, and stronger, treatment may be needed.
