He knew the symptoms women have to look out for to detect breast cancer, but when Andrew Grech developed testicular cancer it went unnoticed until he paid a visit to the doctor because of a cold.
Had I been aware of the symptoms, I could have self-diagnosed myself before and saved myself from the trauma of chemotherapy
“I was more aware of what a woman had to do to look out for breast cancer than what I had to do to check for testicular cancer. Had I been aware of the symptoms I would most probably have noticed them earlier, and I could have done away with the traumatic chemotherapy,” the 38-year-old told The Times.
Mr Grech was diagnosed with testicular cancer in July. Once given the all-clear in December – after three cycles of five-day chemotherapy each – he set himself a goal: to raise awareness in the hope that some people would detect cancer early and would not have to experience what he went through.
He kicked off his mission by setting up a Facebook page called Malta Male Cancer Awareness, where he shares information from recognised medical sources about cancer in men. Through this page – which got more than 400 likes in three days – he also hopes to remove the taboo hanging around male cancers, especially because many of the other forms are more serious than testicular cancer.
Mr Grech appeals to men who have been in a similar situation to open up and get aboard his awareness campaign. He also calls on the health authorities to step up awareness about male cancer.
But above all, he urges sufferers to remain positive for their sake and for their relatives’ sake, because “by remaining positive you’ve won half the battle”.
The only people Mr Grech informed when he was diagnosed were his relatives and close friends. He broke the news to the rest when he was given the all-clear on December 5. That day, he logged onto Facebook and posted: “Cancer 0 – Me 1. My next step is to create awareness.”
“Everybody knows somebody that has or had cancer, but many feel completely alien to it because they are not aware of the consequences. Once it hits you, it’s a completely different story,” he said.
Mr Grech was a healthy non-smoker training for a 37-kilometre charity swim, with no cancer family history and not in the age group mainly at risk (15-35 years).
On July 20, suffering from a cold, the father-of-two paid a visit to his doctor. Before leaving, he drew attention to a pain he had been feeling in his leg for some three weeks. It was unbearable – he could not stand on one leg for more than a minute – but he did not make much of it.
Mr Grech also told the doctor that he had noticed a difference in the size of one of his testicles, which in retrospect had started months before.
On the same day, following an ultrasound, Mr Grech was informed he had testicular cancer. It had developed at least six months before and the tumour had grown so much that it had taken over the whole testicle.
But for Mr Grech, for whom the glass is always half full, life went on, and he kept punching in for work until four days later when he had a CT scan.
He was then given the news that, although the cancer had spread to a lymph node in his abdomen, indicating that it was at stage two, it had not reached vital organs and was curable. Within a week he had met the urologist and underwent surgery, and in September he started chemotherapy.
“The pain in my leg vanished after the operation... that’s another thing: when your body sends you messages, don’t ignore them.
“My ignorance of testicular cancer did not allow me to pick up on it. Had I been aware of the symptoms, I could have self-diagnosed myself before and saved myself fromthe trauma of chemotherapy. I didn’t know what I was going in for. Little did I know that chemo would ‘kill me’ to make me better. My chemotherapy days were like living in a dead man’s body,” he said, adding he would not have made it without his wife Elaine, who stayed by his bedside 24/7.
He added that the positive attitude of the medical team and colleagues also helped him pull through those days when he felt “completely destroyed”. The chemo reduced the lymph node by half but he could only be given the all-clear six weeks later, after having done a PET scan.
And now he hopes that the ordeal he went through will help others avoid it. “Cancer is out there and it can hit anyone anytime,” he warned.
More information at www.facebook.com/#!/MaltaMaleCancerAwareness?fref=ts
Symptoms
• Testicular cancer is one of the most treatable and curable cancers, but early detection is important.
• Discomfort or pain in testicles
• Feeling of heaviness in the scrotum
• Pain in the back
• Enlargement of a testicle or a change in the way it feels
• Lump or swelling in either of the testicles