Spero Davias first felt the symptoms of kidney disease while driving on holiday in Greece six years ago.
"I was feeling a bit funny," Mr Davias said, adding he had to park on the side of the road and rest.
When he returned to Australia, tests showed he had chronic kidney disease.
Within six months, his kidney function was at 10 per cent. He was put on dialysis.
"It was a huge shock to start with," said Mr Davias, 73, of Hamilton East.
He undergoes dialysis three days a week at Newcastle Dialysis Centre. It takes about five hours each time.
"Then you have to wait for the nurses to unplug you and take the needles out, which takes up to an hour," he said.
"When I first came here, I was depressed and thought 'there goes my life'.
"But then again, the alternative was out at Sandgate, so what do you do?"
Mr Davias spoke to the Newcastle Herald to mark Kidney Health Week.
Kidney Health Australia is urging adults to take a simple two-minute online test to determine if they are at risk of developing kidney disease.
It includes nine questions to help establish a person's risk of kidney disease and determines whether an appointment with a GP is needed for a kidney health check.
Three in four Australians are at risk of kidney disease, with the highest contributing factors being diabetes and high blood pressure.
Mr Davias, who is known for owning a chain of Sound World stores in the Hunter that closed in 2006, said "I had type 2 diabetes and very high blood pressure".
"Because I was drinking so much, I started to become a little bit overweight and then a bit more.
"I should have been swimming more and drinking less, but it was the other way around. I still don't mind a drink, but I should control it."
He said kidney failure can "virtually stuff your entire life up".
"You get all types of problems. You get tired and lethargic, you're not yourself again. Sometimes I feel normal, but I always get tired in the afternoons.
"It puts a big hold on everything and it's very hard to work. I'm used to dialysis now - it's like going to work."
Data shows that about 11.4 per cent of people in the Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network have chronic kidney disease.
This equates to about 104,000 people and is slightly above the national average of 11 per cent, Kidney Health Australia's clinical and research general manager Breonny Robson said.
Yet surveys show that only 90 per cent of these people will be aware they have the disease.
Furthermore, it's estimated that more than 910,000 people in the primary health network are at increased risk of chronic kidney disease.
A big challenge with the push for early detection is that kidney disease has no symptoms.
Up to 90 per cent of kidney function can be lost without warning, meaning diagnosis is often too late and little can be done at that late stage to avoid kidney failure. However, early detection can slow or stop the progression of the incurable and deadly disease.
Research shows people associate early signs of kidney disease with changes to urination.
Dr Karen Dwyer, nephrologist and Kidney Health Australia clinical director, said this misconception can lead to fewer people getting their kidneys checked.
Dr Dwyer said early detection is vital, as it can change people's futures.
"For the first time in 20 years, there are new treatments for kidney disease that can slow down the progression to kidney failure," she said.
Kidney Health Australia's recently released Deloitte Access Economics report shows chronic kidney disease costs the Australian economy $9.9 billion annually.
More than $5 billion of this is due to lost productivity, such as reduced employment, absenteeism, presenteeism and lost income due to premature death.
The total cost to the healthcare system is estimated to be $2.3 billion. A big part of these costs is for dialysis and kidney transplants.
The report said government funding for targeted early screening and diagnosis could help prevent 38,200 premature deaths and almost 240,000 hospitalisations over 20 years.
For every dollar spent, the health system would save $45. This relates to the costs of managing kidney failure and associated cardiovascular disease.
Kidney Health Australia chief executive Chris Forbes said chronic kidney disease is an under-diagnosed condition.
"Investment in early detection is vital to saving lives, while also reducing the economic burden on the health system and society," Mr Forbes said.
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