Young man: My GP convinced me I had a STD and I almost died on the worst night of my life

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Young man: My GP convinced me I had a STD and I almost died on the worst night of my life
Young man: My GP convinced me I had a STD and I almost died on the worst night of my life
Anonim

It wasn't until a Briton was curled up in agony on his bedroom floor, unable to move, that he decided everything he'd been through so far was enough

After months of pain and numerous visits to his GP, who thought he had a sexually transmitted infection and prescribed antibiotics, Cardiff marketing manager Paul Hunter, now 29, asked his parents to take him urgently in hospital.

There, Paul underwent an ultrasound and CT scan before being given the terrifying news that he had stage 3 testicular cancer.

I heard about it because I knew what happened to cyclist Lance Armstrong, but I didn't realize it could be this serious, the man says of his diagnosis in December 2014.

“By the time I was diagnosed, the tumor had crushed my left testicle. There was also a large mass that was crushing one of my kidneys and started wrapping around an artery, the man says.

“The tumor in my abdomen was a teratoma - a rare type of germ cell tumor that consists of several different types of tissue, such as hair, muscle or bone. There were also multiple tumors in my lungs,” he adds.

The man describes that night as the worst thing in his life. “I thought I was going to die. I couldn't believe this was happening to me, he recalled.

“I assumed there was nothing that could be done. At the time I was in a serious relationship and wanted children, so it was devastating to be faced with surgery. Fortunately, I was able to donate my sperm beforehand, although it's not a conversation a woman expects to have with her partner when she's 25,” adds Paul.

Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young men, with around 2,300 cases in the UK each year, which is around 6 every day.

Although survival rates are high (over 95%), up to one in 20 cases is fatal.

The prevalence of the disease is expected to increase by 12% in the UK between 2014 and 2035, according to data compiled by Cancer Research UK.

“Testicular cancer has increased quite dramatically over the last 30 years, although the rate seems obvious,” says Professor Clare Turnbull, senior researcher at the Institute of Cancer Research.

"The reasons for this are poorly understood, although environmental factors may be involved."

Symptoms include a lump or pain in the testicle, an increase in size, or a change in the way it feels, although symptoms can be vague or vary.

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