Lad diagnosed with testicular cancer calls for men to end stigma of it being seen as ‘embarrassing’

In January 2023, Luke became the one in 250 people who end up diagnosed with testicular cancer in their lifetime.

Luke first realised something was 'slightly different' in December when checking himself over in the shower, opting to wait until after Christmas before booking a GP appointment.

January soon came around and despite having never shown a doctor 'that area before' - alongside the GP being a 40-year-old woman which added 'a little bit of awkwardness' - Luke revealed his discovery.

The GP said: "We're not concerned, it's very small. I don't think it's gonna be anything. But with this sort of thing. We don't mess around, we'll send you for an ultrasound."

However, when the doctor didn't move from the screen of the ultrasound for 'a good 15 minutes' Luke knew something was wrong.

"At that point, it started to feel a bit like a dream."

Luke was given the news in January. (Supplied)

After being sent to a urology clinic and warned the findings were 'not good', Luke 'prepared for it to just be a cyst or an infection or something'.

"But it wasn't that.

"He said, 'This is probably quite serious, we have to act quickly with this sort of thing [...] And you'll probably need to get that removed'.

"I remember just saying, 'Get what removed?'"

Luke was diagnosed with stage one testicular cancer after doctors found a mixed germ cell.

Luke was diagnosed with stage one testicular cancer. (Supplied)

Thankfully, as a result of Luke going to see a doctor so quickly the tumour measured a 'very small' 1.8 cm. 'The usual' is 'around 2.5cm-4cm' when first caught.

Nearly one in five men only make a call to their doctor when it gets serious.

Upon being diagnosed, everything snowballed quickly, with Luke given a letter six days later confirming his operation date for the following week.

Now, out the other side and thankfully not requiring chemotherapy or radiotherapy due to catching the tumour early, Luke is 'still processing the mental side a little bit'.

Luke had a lot of support from family, friends and his partner Rosie. (Supplied)

However, he wants to speak out as believes there's a stigma around talking about cancer - particularly testicular which he believes is seen as 'the embarrassing one'.

61 percent of UK men aren’t aware that testicular cancer is the most common cancer within young men aged 15-40. Yet despite being the most common, Luke has yet to meet anyone who's also had it.

"I'd say it's still the embarrassing one. I think it's similar to sort of probably breast cancer from a female perspective," he said.

"I think for a bloke to admit he's had a testicle chopped off is probably something quite emasculating.

"And that's why I sometimes did deliberate talking to people about it. I think if I wasn't in a stable relationship I'd have probably found that harder."

Luke had surgery, but hasn't required chemo or radiotherapy. (Supplied)

Bar the 'pain where the cut is' and healing from the operation, Luke explains his energy levels are back to normal, his voice 'hasn't heightened' and he feels 'like it's absolutely normal'.

He continues: "It doesn't look ridiculously different, it's not an ugly sight.

"[...] It's a bit like when you get a spot on your face and you think, 'Oh my god, the whole world is staring' and realistically unless someone's there that's literally up in your grill, nobody cares about your spot - everyone gets spots.

"And similarly, everyone gets life things that happen. It might be internal or external but [...] it shouldn't make people feel like they have to shy away from just talking about it and letting it out."

Luke's journey has made him reassess his priorities in life. (Supplied)

Luke explains he's always seen himself as 'a bit of a classic mild alpha male' who's felt pressure to look like he has his 's**t together'.

While this has seen people come to him for help, since his diagnosis, 'opening up' himself has 'opened other people up' even more.

Luke resolves: "I think it's about opening up yourself and sharing you're not Mr. Perfect [which] can bring out the best in everyone."

If you don't know how to check your nuts and want to know how you can visit Movember's website for more information.

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.

Topics: Cancer, Health, Mental Health, UK News

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.