Cancer survivor praises Movember campaign for opening dialogue about men's mental health
ITV Channel Presenter, Jess Dunsdon, speaks to Jered Kelly about why he's been growing a moustache for Movember.
A cancer survivor from Jersey taking part in Movember says his experience of fighting the disease inspired him to take on the charity fundraiser and encourage men to talk more openly about their mental health. Jered Kelly was diagnosed with testicular cancer aged 27, just a year after the birth of his son Theo. Jered told ITV News: "It's one of those things that you just never think is going to happen to you. Especially at such a young age as well.
"Before the diagnosis we had just gone on a really nice holiday. We went on a family cruise for the first time. Probably for me, life hadn't been any better so it was quite a high point for me to kind of drop off from, so yeah it was a big shock."Despite surgery to remove the lumps, just over a year later Jered's cancer spread to his abdomen, requiring months of chemotherapy.For him, the psychological turmoil of not knowing whether the treatment would be successful was a greater challenge than the illness itself.
He said: "The most difficult aspect of the whole thing wasn't the feeling ill, not having the energy, things like that. It was more the uncertainty. The mental aspect of constantly worrying about what's next. "Whether it's going to be successful or whether it's going to spread."Jered praised Macmillan Jersey's free counselling service for helping him overcome his anxiety. He said: "Before I was waiting for everything to be over. I was just putting my whole life on pause. "But after I starting seeing them, I started to life again and that really helped me and what also helped me was that I had positive results that the chemotherapy had worked."Since his recovery, Jered has been determined to give something back to help those battling cancer and young men facing mental health challenges. Jered raised money for Macmillan Jersey at this year's Jersey Marathon and this month has been growing a moustache for Movember, the popular annual fundraiser which raises awareness about men's physical and mental health. Speaking about his motivations for doing Movember, Jered said: "Being a young man, I know a lot of other young men who go through mental health issues but also don't want to talk about them."All these causes that, I think when you go through something specifically yourself as well, things bring on a greater meaning, for sure."
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