In March 2021 I was diagnosed with stage 1 testicular cancer. 

Around late February time, I had noticed that there was a swelling on one of my testicles. I contemplated for a week about phoning a doctor and eventually did after a small push from my partner. In about 10 days after making the phone call, I had an operation to have it removed due to a suspicious lesion, which was later confirmed as cancerous. 

Thankfully, this was caught early and all my results have been really great. I am undergoing 1 cycle of chemotherapy in a few weeks time as a precautionary measure. I can’t say that I am excited about that but it must be done. 

The whole thing has been a real eye opener for me in terms of just how scary cancer is but also just how wonderful the NHS truly is and how much love and support I have from friends and family around me. 

Here’s some facts about testicular cancer:

- It has a 97+% curative rate.

- It affects around 2000-2500 men a year.

- It is most likely to affect teenagers and adult males between the ages of 15-49. The age it is most likely to hit at is 28 (guess who turned 28 this year...!) 

- It is a relatively rare type of cancer and accounts for 1% of cancers in all men.

- The number of cases diagnosed in the UK has roughly doubled since the 1970’s.

Not knowing a lot of this myself, I felt it appropriate to try and raise some awareness to my friends, family and even fans of my band so that you know the facts and that it is really important to check yourself. 

Www.checkemlads.com has a lot of great information to help with this and even has tips for chemotherapy should you ever have to go down that route. 

So, in order to raise some awareness - I’m shaving off my hair.

My hair is probably my favourite part of my body. It’s thick, long and healthy. Famously, hair falls out during chemotherapy. Even though I don’t think my hair will fall out just after 1 cycle of chemo, I would like to show support for anyone else that has lost theirs. 

Please give whatever you can. I’ve put up a goal of £250.00 but the main thing I want to do is make sure you know about red flags to watch out for through your life. 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.