Patient One:
Killian disregarded a throbbing pain in his beautiful junk for nothing more than just a passing testicular sensation. When the pain came back Killian noticed a lump on his balls, which he ignored. Killian was rushed to A&E days later.
“Well at first it was just pain and I kind of ignored it hoping it would go away like most guys my age.”
While the hospital in question cannot be mentioned due to legal reasons, doctors told Killian not to worry as he was just suffering from your run-of-the-mill STI. This gross misconduct could have cost someone their life as it is crucial to start treating testicular cancer as early as possible. Fortunately, the diagnosis didn’t sit well with Killian which lead him to seeking a second opinion. Killian did in fact test positive for testicular cancer.
“I had an ‘Oh shit!’ moment when I first felt it [the lump] and of course with it being my balls I was very nervous about telling someone.”
Obviously anything to do with your penis doesn’t make great table chat and Killian couldn’t bring himself to talk about it with his mother just yet. He reached out to his uncle in this time of uncertainty looking for a male figure to help him wrap his head around what was happening.
“My uncle was the logical person to go to since my father wasn’t in my life.”
After Killian underwent the operation to have one of his testicles removed he was told the harrowing news that the cancer had spread into a lymph node near the stomach. It was at this point that Killian new he was going to have to begin invasive chemotherapy which would last nine weeks. While Killian’s life was under threat of collapse he found reassurance from his doctors that the cancer was caught early and there was big success rate in the treatment.
“At the end of the day it’s poison being pumped into you to kill off a bit of you.”
Killian finished his chemotherapy sessions last September just before starting his first year of university. He walked out of his final chemo treatment on the Monday and two days later he walked into his first day of college, ready to take back control of his life. Killian was given the all-clear by his doctors in November of last year.
“You know, in my mind I already knew I was going to beat it throughout the whole thing.”
After Killian received the all-clear he longed for his life to go back to normal, no more people asking how he was and being extra kind to him just because he had cancer. Killian took comfort in his friends who never treated him any different whether he was sick or not. They were dickheads and they loved him.
“I loved my friends because throughout the whole thing they still treated me the exact same, taking the piss out of me. It made it feel normal again.”
Killian knows that the cancer can come back at any time so he makes it his priority to get the routine check-ups and scans once a year. He had his latest one just last week and everything is perfect.
“Don’t be afraid to talk to someone about it, or what I found helpful was just having someone outside of your close-friends to chat to about anything not just cancer. Most importantly is that you keep on fighting because you’ll get there in the end much like Darragh, my buddy also diagnosed with cancer. I got to see myself beat cancer and then to try help my friend who had an extremely serious condition. Fight on and win.”
For further information and support freephone 1800 200 700 to speak with a cancer nurse or visit http://www.cancer.ie
Cherry pop 