He is a humble man of few words, but what he does say reveals some special qualities.

Throughout the past two decades, Mr Paterson and his wife Sue have fostered 13 children.

"It started when we got custody of the grand kids when they were babies," he said.

The 'babies' have now grown up and Mr and Mrs Paterson continue to care for children, having six with them at the moment.

"We have had one little boy since he was three days old and we have his sister, brother and their cousins," he said.

"Two of them go to school and four of them go to playgroup."

Mr Paterson said it was a joy to see the children grow up and go along to their first day of school.

"That's what'll keep you young," he said.

Mr Paterson believed he was a strong, grounded influence in the children's lives and he was always finding activities for them to do and making them things to play with.

"It's all about finding things to keep them occupied. And routine, routine is really important for kids," he said.

The Patersons have lived in Camooweal since 1998. They lived around Mount Isa for 13 years prior to that.

"I've always lived around here (North West Queensland), I was born and bred on a stock farm," he said.

Almost three years ago, Mr Paterson had an accident which ultimately saved his life.

He had some friends visiting and they decided to do some work on the property with a small bobcat he owns.

"We were working on the bobcat and I saw some old steel lying there, so I got out and to have a look, fell over, and tore some ligaments in my leg," he said.

"It was a Friday and I was laid up for a few days and I started to get a pain in my neck," he said.

On Tuesday, Mr Paterson visited the Royal Flying Doctor Service, who examined him and sent him to Mount Isa.

He was then sent to Townsville Hospital, who sent him to Brisbane Hospital where he was diagnosed with throat cancer.

"I was shocked. At first I thought it was the flu, but it was a different kind of pain," he said.

"They told me it had been there for three months."

The Brisbane hospital sent Mr Paterson back to Townsville Hospital where he underwent six weeks of intense radiation and chemotherapy treatment.

"Sue and the kids came up with me, and my sister from Proserpine came to visit every weekend, so I suppose I had a lot of support around me.

"When something like that happens, it's a real wake up call. The doctors said to me if you are going to get cancer from smoking, it will happen in the first two years, and it will just sit there dormant," he said.

"I had given up smoking years before I was diagnosed."

He said he was now feeling "really good" and kept himself busy as the owner of the Camooweal Driveway and being a father figure to his brood of children.

Mr Patterson said one thing he looked forward to was taking a trip to Western Australia to look around the Kimberly area.

"I want to get there before I get too old, do lots of fishing and have a look at the country," he said.

"Hopefully the grand kids will keep everything running while I am away."