I thought I was indestructible until I was diagnosed with testicular cancer at 24
Jamie Keeble, 34, an entrepreneur from Harrogate, was devastated when diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 24. Now he’s raising awareness of the disease and encourage other men to get checked.
I’ve always led an active lifestyle. One evening, after finishing up at the gym, I put on some washing and threw in my dirty gym clothes. I must have knocked something as I felt something unusual down there. That’s when I looked down to find a small lump on my right testicle.
I knew straight away that something wasn’t right. Since my doctor's surgery was closed for the day, I did what most people would: I turned to Google. Most of the searches led me to information on testicular cancer and suggested I see my GP immediately.
The next morning, my doctor examined me and urged me not to worry - it could be the big C but it was 'likely just a cyst'. Deep down, I knew it was something more serious and decided to get a second opinion. Later that week, I booked to see a private doctor who confirmed my fear: It was testicular cancer.
Devastating news
Hearing that I had cancer felt surreal. I couldn’t believe it was happening to me. I was young and healthy – cancer felt like something that happened to other people.
Up until that diagnosis, I honestly thought I was indestructible. I was rarely ill and had never even broken a bone but suddenly I was waiting to find out how aggressive my cancer was. I’d never thought about illness or death before, but now the ‘what ifs’ flooded my mind and kept me up at night.
I’d virtually never been ill and had never even broken a bone, now I was waiting to find out how bad my cancer was.
Two weeks after the diagnosis, I had an operation to get my right testicle removed. I thought I would feel strange with just one, so I made the personal decision to get a silicone implant. The cancer was aggressive, but thankfully, the doctors caught it at stage one – bordering stage two – early enough that it had not spread to my lymph nodes.
The doctors and I both thought it would be best for me to go through a round of chemo to make sure the cancer hadn’t spread and bring down the chances of it recurring. I was dreading it, but if I went through with it, the risk of the cancer recurring dropped drastically.
Exhaustion and nausea
People warned me how rough chemo could be, but it was worse than I expected. It was horrendous. It felt like being travel-sick for about two weeks, with waves of nausea and exhaustion.
I stayed with my parents during that time and, because chemo can knock your immune system down, I couldn’t have any visitors. The isolation was tough and I can’t imagine going through multiple rounds.
People warned me how rough chemo could be, but it was worse than I expected. It was horrendous.
Just one dose was exhausting enough, and I consider myself very, very lucky that I didn’t need to do any more. Although there was no guarantee that the chemo would work, just knowing that I was doing everything I could to prevent the worst from happening was worth it for the peace of mind.
The first year after the diagnosis was the hardest. Because of the operation, there was lots of nerve damage. So anytime I felt a slight tinge of pain, my mind would start spiralling, thinking that the cancer might be back – or even worse, that it had spread.
Rising panic
With the type of cancer I had, I needed to go through five years of monitoring. It meant regular blood tests and scans as a precaution, which wasn’t fun. But because of how aggressive the cancer was, there was a 30% chance of it returning. That kind of risk hangs over you and for the first three or four years, every little tinge or bump brought me back to that initial panic.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. The worst part was seeing how worried my family was.
To be honest, I probably didn’t handle it as well as I could have. I kept myself as busy as I could to push the worry out of my mind. I tried to just get on with things, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. The worst part was seeing how worried my family was. They tried to hide it, but I could see how it weighed on them and that’s something you carry around with you.
About six months after my surgery, I started dating Liv, my now wife. Going through something like this changes your perspective – I wanted to be completely upfront about everything from the beginning.
Falling in love
Liv was great about it, which made things easier. She didn’t treat me any differently and that meant a lot. After going through cancer, it would be easy for your confidence to take a hit, but meeting someone so understanding helped me move on. I’m extremely lucky that I found such a supportive partner.
Being busy helped keep my mind off the cancer and I’m always reminding myself how lucky I was to have caught it just in time.
Once I knew I was on the path to recovery, I realised it was time to stop feeling sorry for myself and get back to living. I threw myself back into the family business, HECK!, which was just starting to take off at the time.
I tried to stay as active as possible and started cycling to build my fitness and confidence back up. Being busy helped me keep my mind off the cancer and I’m always reminding myself how lucky I was to have caught it just in time. Had I ignored that lump, it could have been much more serious.
Warning other men
I’m incredibly passionate about encouraging men to check themselves and go to the doctor if something doesn’t feel right. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Tackle it head-on because if you don’t, it could end up being a lot worse.
Now, life is good. It’s been nearly a decade since I was diagnosed and I can officially say that I’m in the clear for the cancer reoccurring. Last year, Liv and I had our daughter, Sienna, and our food business is growing bigger and bigger.
I’m making the most of my time as a father and entrepreneur. My cancer diagnosis was a huge reminder to live life to the full and I’ll never take my health for granted again.
HECK is partnering with the cancer charity Cahonas to raise awareness about testicular cancer. Throughout November, proceeds from every pack of CHECK! sausages will go to the Scottish charity.
Read more about men's health
What is Movember? The men's health movement taking over November (Yahoo Life UK, 3-min read)
Testicular cancer: Signs, symptoms and the best time to check for lumps (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)
Workplace checks could be way forward in improving men’s health, says minister (PA Media, 5-min read)
