Mark T

At 36 years old, with 2 children and vasectomy behind me I put ball ache and swelling down to play fighting with the kids. Deep down I knew something more serious was happening but I went with the typical male approach of ignore it and hope the problem goes away. 3 weeks later, and with a more swollen righty, I decided to discuss the situation with my wife who immediately escalated the issue, booking GP/doctor appointments for the following day and discussing it with doctor friends. Within 2 days of diagnosis I was in hospital having righty removed, and was then booked in for a round of cautionary chemo.

Throughout my whole journey I have applied humour as a coping mechanism, for both me and my friends and colleagues. I found early on that trying to discuss my diagnosis in a serious fashion with men caused them to close up and shy away from the conversation. A, "Yeah it’s pretty nuts" or "I've got the balls to fight cancer" line here and there always broke the tension, banter ensued (I learnt I have friends with an incredibly cruel sense of humour!) and then the real questions happened. I was amazed at how little my friends knew about their own health, which encouraged me to discuss my journey more and more.

As an avid Star Wars fan and cosplayer, I created a satirical Stormtrooper TC Awareness PSA, which received minor viral success on Reddit and it has influenced me to continue spreading testicular cancer awareness and men’s health awareness through humour.