“The thought of having cancer never even went through my head.
“It totally shocked me being sporty and young – it’s something that you think will never happen to you.”
William Gingell admitted he was stunned by the diagnosis he received when he had a testicular lump checked out at the doctors.
He was an otherwise fit and healthy 17-year-old university student who regularly played rugby and had no history of ill health.
William, now 28 and a project manager in Richmond, revealed it was at his girlfriend’s insistence that he finally went to the doctor.
“I had never even considered checking or even knew what it was to be honest,” he explained.
It was at the doctors that he was dealt the devastating news that he had early-stage testicular cancer.
William was diagnosed on a Monday and by the Thursday of the same week he was on the operating table to have the malignant testicle removed.
He explained that childhood sweetheart Lucy was a rock to him during the diagnosis and treatment of his condition.
“She along with my family and friends helped me to maintain some normality in my life and provided some welcome distractions,” he said.
Thankfully William got his happy ending when he married Lucy in what he described as an ‘amazing’ day.
And their family is now complete with the arrival of eight-month-old baby daughter Nell.
However he admitted that he might not have got the opportunity to enjoy his happily ever if it wasn’t for his wife.
He said: “If Lucy hadn’t nagged me to go to the doctor, if I had left it for another year, I could have been having chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
“It could have been a totally different story if it wasn’t for her.
“If it wasn’t for her we might not have even had a wedding – my wife saved my life.”
He’s now encouraging men to know their bodies and if something’s not right, to get it checked.
“Men need to get checked out,” he said. “It could be a minor thing, it could be something that you are worrying about – whatever it is, get yourself checked out.
“The longer you leave it, the worse it could get.”
William explained that the lack of awareness of the symptoms and men’s reluctance to go to a doctor is endangering men’s lives.
“Before I was diagnosed I thought it was something that I had sustained playing rugby, so you just forget about it and think it will go in a few weeks’ time,” he said.
“I was fit and healthy but then you realise when you do a bit more research that it can affect anybody.
“So don’t be embarrassed – get it checked out because you’re not wasting anyone’s time.”
