Island men urged to check themselves this testicular cancer awareness month
ITV Channel's Ian Child meets Dan and Jakub who have both had testicular cancer. They're now urging others to speak up if they find any lumps or bumps.
Men across the Channel Islands are being urged to check themselves for lumps, bumps and swellings this Testicular Cancer Awareness Month (April).
Since 2020 23 men in Jersey and 13 men in Guernsey have been diagnosed with the disease, with ages ranging from 19 to 78.
Jakub Wielgus was diagnosed in 2021 at the age of 26. He ignored pain and discomfort he was experiencing for almost four weeks before he asked his friends for advice: "It was an incredibly big pain just around my kidney. I was limping. Even my friends told me, maybe you have something wrong with your testicles.
"People who I know, told me to go and check but I was like, no. I'm going to be alright. I was working as well, mad hours because I work in hospitality. I don't even have time to go to the hospital, because I'm working the weekends, I'm working days and nights."
Almost three months after seeking medical advice, Jakub had an operation to have his left testicle removed. He then underwent three months of chemotherapy with some treatments lasting up to nine hours a day. He's now living a healthy cancer-free life but requires regular testing by the oncology team at the hospital.
Dan Collins from Guernsey noticed a swelling while in the shower back in 2012. He originally put it down to a rugby injury but it was his wife who suggested he go and have it checked out.
"My testicle had gone from a normal size to perhaps a size of an apple within ten days. So it would have been very hard not to do anything.
"To think that's the sort of growth that can happen if you procrastinate, and perhaps on an area of your body which is not quite so visible. If I'd have done nothing, I'd have been dead in 2012."
According to Cancer Research UK, around 9 in 10 men diagnosed with testicular cancer survive the disease for ten years or more.
Dr Mohammad Butt is a consultant oncologist based at Jersey Hospital. He says testicular cancer is a now one of the best cancers to be cured if its detected early enough.
"We have a 99% cure rate. By cure rate, we expect people to live five years but for every ten patients these days I don't treat any with any systemic treatment in about eight cases.
"I may need to give chemotherapy to maybe two cases out of ten. Most of them are cured by operation only and they don't need any further precautionary treatment if they present early."
Following diagnosis and treatment, Dan became a board member of the island-based charity Male Uprising Guernsey - also known as MUG. It raises funds and awareness for cancer research and encourages more men to open up.
He says the more men that talk, the more lives can be saved: "Certainly when we did the #icheckmyballs campaign a number of years ago, the direct feedback from GPs was that lots more men came forward for referrals. So I do believe we're moving in the right direction and hopefully we can keep building on that."
When asked what message he'd like to get out there, he said: "Purely from my own experience, I'd say please go and get tested. Go and get checked out. There's no downside to it.
"If there's nothing wrong with you, it's a quick OK. If there is something wrong with you, the quicker you can get help the better treatment outcomes you're going to have. You'll be doing your self a massive favour.
"In my case, it saved my life and I'm living proof that if you do the right thing, it can still be treated."
Want to find out more about the stories making the headlines? Don't miss Channelcast - the Channel Islands current affairs podcast brought to you by ITV News: