Testicular cancer survivor Andrew Grech’s brave decision to speak up has reaped results. After reading his story in The Sunday Times, 18 men visited Da Vinci Hospital for ultrasounds and four were diagnosed with malignancy.

The ‘it will not happen to me’ attitude is a dangerous one

After beating testicular cancer in December, the 38-year-old set about the mission of raising awareness and trying to break the taboo surrounding male cancer.

When Mr Grech next visited consultant radiologist Pierre Vassallo on an unrelated issue, the consultant remarked that he was surprised by the sudden increase in the number of requests for testicular ultrasounds.

“I commented to Andrew that within three days, there were 18 requests, which is what we normally get in a period of five weeks,” Dr Vassallo said.

“All the patients had already harboured doubts regarding their well-being. They told me that an article they had come across served as that extra push they needed to pick up the phone and book an appointment.

“Andrew smiled and informed me that the article was about him. The coincidence was remarkable!”

Mr Grech was a healthy non-smoker training for a 37-kilometre charity swim before being diagnosed with testicular cancer.

On July 20, suffering from a cold, the father-of-two paid a visit to his doctor. Before leaving, he drew attention to a searing pain he had been feeling in his leg for some three weeks. He had not made much of it.

“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,” Mr Grech said.

Testicular cancer accounts for one per cent of all cancers in men and is therefore much less frequent than other forms of cancer such as those in the lung, colon and prostate.

In Malta, testicular cancer is diagnosed in four out of every 100,000 men, which means consultants diagnose approximately 20 new cases per year.

The good news is that it is very treatable if detected early.

Signs of testicular cancer include pain and heaviness in the testicles, testicular swelling and surface irregularity. Other occasional symptoms are breast enlargement and pain due to female sex hormones produced by the tumour. The presence of back pain may indicate spread of cancer into the abdomen.

Three cycles of chemotherapy later, Mr Grech was given the all-clear. He subsequently kicked off his mission by setting up a Facebook page called Malta Male Cancer Awareness, where he regularly shares information from recognised medical sources about different forms of cancer in men.

“The feedback I received was phenomenal. When Dr Vassallo informed me that 18 people had gone for an ultrasound and four were diagnosed and operated upon, I was stunned.

“I thought to myself: wow! It worked.”

The Times got in touch with Luke (he does not wish to reveal his surname) who was diagnosed with testicular cancer the day after the article was published.

“I never thought anything was wrong until I read Andrew’s article,” the 30-year-old said.

“The worst thing about it is that I experienced absolutely no pain. Upon reading the article, I checked myself and noticed that my left testicle felt hard to the touch.

“I booked an appointment the very next day where was told that the tumour had taken over my entire testicle. That was on January 8. The next day, on January 9, I was operated upon and the tumour was removed.

“As opposed to breast cancer, people are extremely unaware of testicular cancer. My friends were shocked that it could affect people my age and that there is no overt pain which could act as a warning signal. In effect, it is a very treatable form of cancer. But you have to detect it first.”

Mr Grech confirmed Luke’s experience. He explained how, armed with knowledge, a man can prepare himself better, recognise the symptoms and get an early diagnosis which might help him circumvent the whole chemotherapy process.

“The ‘it will not happen to me’ attitude is a dangerous one. Live positively, keep smiling but get yourselves checked.”

For information, visit www.facebook.com/MaltaMaleCancerAwareness.

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