Footy tackle saved my tackle - when 'bash in balls' in crunch match revealed testicular cancer

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Liam Landers only discovered his testicular cancer when a crunch football tackle sent him to hospital.

A stockbroker claims getting 'bashed in the balls' during a crunch football match saved his life - when his testicle tripling in size turned out to be cancer. Liam Landers was contesting a header during the penultimate match of the season when an opposition player's hand accidentally hit him in the crotch.

After momentarily sinking to his knees in pain, the wincing 27-year-old got up and finished playing the game but as the day progressed his right testicle remained sore and started to swell. Days later Liam's testicle tripled in size and felt solid to the touch so he visited his GP who, during a second visit a week later, referred him for an ultrasound scan.

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Thinking it may be a cyst or hernia, Liam was stunned when a urologist confirmed the mass was likely cancerous and he needed an operation to remove his testicle. The sporty lad then underwent a gruelling three-week course of chemotherapy to blast any remaining cancer cells. A year on, Liam is sharing his ordeal to urge blokes to check themselves and get anything unusual checked out.

Kennedy News and Media

Liam, from Chelmsford, Essex, said: "Getting bashed in the balls saved my life. The urologist said there can be no symptoms of it [testicular cancer] so getting bashed flared up something that was going on inside that I didn't know about.

"If I'd not had that incident at football I could probably be dead now, in a hospice or really fighting for my life."

Striker Liam was playing the penultimate game of the season at the end of April 2023 for his team Old Chelmsfordians when the accident happened. Liam said: "We were both going up for a header from a corner and then we collided, his hand just accidentally bashed me in the balls.

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"That [getting hit there] hurts, normally it would go away after a few minutes but this was prolonged. I went down for a second and then I was alright. Later that day I noticed my right testicle was really sore and swollen, but thought it was just from the collision.

"As the days passed it got no better and the whole testicle tripled in size. One day I was checking it and it almost instantly in my hand went rock hard, it was like a stone. It was the most bizarre thing ever, it was like an out-of-body experience."

Kennedy News and Media

Liam, who has corporate private health care, went to his GP twice in two weeks and was referred to a clinic for an ultrasound, before a urologist told him the devastating news. Over the course of two weeks Liam had blood tests, CT scans, ultrasounds and PET scans before doctors confirmed he'd need to have his testicle removed.

Liam said: "The urologist said 'you've most probably got a tumour in your testicle and it's 99% probably cancerous'. I was there thinking I had a cyst or a hernia and then he threw everything at me. It was a scary moment and very overwhelming, I was in tears afterwards.

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"I saw another specialist who told me I was going to have to have it removed and in his diary he had a slot the next day to operate on me, which was a godsend. It all happened within two or three weeks from not knowing anything about it to it being gone and in recovery."

Kennedy News and Media

After undergoing the 45-minute op at Springfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex, in May the tumour was biopsied and it was confirmed it was cancerous. In August Liam underwent an intense three-week cycle of chemo to 'mop up' any remaining cancerous cells.

Liam said: "It wasn't too pleasant, but the nurses and oncologist were lovely. The first day of chemo I was there eight hours. It's like you're on your deathbed then an hour or two later you just feel tired. It was like a wave of hell and then two hours later you felt ok."

A year on, Liam is doing well and is now sharing his story to encourage blokes to check their tackle and visit their GP if they experience any unusual symptoms. He said: "I didn't know anything about testicular cancer, I thought I was going to die. It's really common in men aged 18-30 so if I can raise a bit more awareness people can be more prepared if, God forbid, a similar thing happens to them.

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Kennedy News and Media

"I want to encourage blokes to check themselves and get anything unusual checked out. Us men, generally we put things on the backburner and think 'that doesn't matter' we get so engulfed in our work or studying. I was so lucky so I'm just trying to raise as much awareness from the personal experience I've had."

Liam runs Instagram page @onehundred_club, a competition site where he will pledge some of the net profits to testicular cancer awareness and research charities, including OddBalls Foundation.

What is testicular cancer?

Testicular cancer is cancer that's found in the testicles. It's most common in men aged 15 to 49. Symptoms of testicular cancer include a lump or swelling in your testicle, your testicle getting bigger, an ache or pain in your testicle or scrotum (the skin that covers the testicles), your scrotum feeling heavy, firm or hard.

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