The night before my 31st birthday,  I found a lump on one of my testicles and after discussing it with my wife Nicky I booked to see my GP the next morning.  I was referred to the NNUH just 2 days later, where, after a 30 second examination, it was confirmed I had Testicular Cancer.  This came as a shock, as I thought I was going simply to rule out anything nasty and did not believe I would have Cancer.  After scans and tests it was confirmed as Stage 1S Cancer which had spread into my lymph nodes, so as well as surgery I would need to have 9 weeks of BEP Chemotherapy.  

Now, there is a miracle to my story as we were busy trying for children when I found the lump.  We were exceptionally lucky that my wife fell pregnant in the month between my Orchidectomy and the start of my chemo.  Without this good fortune we would have had to wait 6-12 months post Chemo before trying again.  Our gorgeous daughter Annabelle is now 12 years old and was our little ray of sunshine at the end of my recovery and gave us hope and strength along the way, as did our families.  We have also been fortunate enough to have a second daughter post recovery and Amelie has completed our family and is now 8 years old.  My treatment and recovery had ups and downs but I am now fit and well and over 12 years now in remission.  A big thanks to my Dr, Dr Kapur!

See Gareth’s story here: Gareth’s Story