A construction supervisor at City Building, one of Scotland’s largest construction services firms, has reflected on his testicular cancer crisis to help raise awareness of the disease amongst young men.
Kieran Young, 29, spoke out after City Building employees raised £1,000 for charities of their choice.
Kieran nominated Cahonas after it supported him through his own cancer battle but also because he is determined to prevent the disease from taking lives.
The father of two noticed a lump on his right testicle two years ago but had deferred going to his GP.
He said: “It had been there for weeks and being a typical guy who never goes to the doctor I hadn’t done anything about it, but my wife made me get an appointment.
“My GP arranged an ultrasound which I had a few weeks later on 17 December. While driving home I received a call diagnosing cancer and asking me to go for surgery the following day.
“After I had my testicle removed, we hoped that would be the end of it, but my cancer markers in my blood were still growing and it emerged it had spread to my stomach. I also had scarring in my lungs which suggested it could have reached there too.
“I was advised to begin chemotherapy almost immediately but as it was my birthday before New Year, I put it off to have one last party and on 1 January 2022 I began my treatment.”
As he was in his 20s, Kieran was admitted to a worldwide trial offering accelerated treatment, undergoing four cycles of chemo just two weeks apart. During this time, he struggled with severe pain and sickness.
“My children didn’t know what was happening,” he said. “I didn’t want to scare them so I made a big game out of shaving off my hair before it fell out, but the biggest change in my appearance was my weight. I ballooned up on the steroids, which made really hungry all the time.”
Kieran remains under the care of Glasgow’s world-renowned Beatson Clinic and will be monitored closely for another three years. Now fully back at work, he is committed to encouraging other young men to conduct self-checks and seek help if they have any concerns.
“I hadn’t really noticed any symptoms, but looking back I had been feeling tired and had been quite sweaty. At the time I put it down to working hard, but as soon as I saw that lump, I should have got help,” he said.
“My son, who had been learning about cancer at school, came home one day and said, ‘When you get cancer you die.’ And I explained how that wasn’t true. But testicular cancer spreads so quickly it can become life-threatening before you know it.
“I have hearing loss and tinnitus, my teeth are damaged, and I get numbness in my right foot when I go for a run, but I am one of the lucky ones. I am in remission, I have my family, and my employers have looked after me.
“This disease affects young men aged 18-30 – the ones who are least likely to think they are at risk. If talking about testicular cancer can help just one person, it is worth it.”
