Superfit 21-year-old riddled with cancer - after doctors dismissed his symptoms as a post-gym twinge
A young gym fanatic has told of how doctors missed the first warning sign of the advanced testicular cancer that riddled his body with tumours.
Rob, 21, from Delaware in the US, was used to aches and pains, spending a large chunk of his day lifting heavy weights at the gym.
So when he began to suffer with a painful back twinge in February last year, he thought little of it.
'About an hour after leaving the gym my back started hurting really bad,' he told The Patient Story.
'I assumed it was weight-lifting related — an injury from my back.'
As the pain got progressively worse over the following weeks, he decided to seek help from the medics at his college.
However, doctors told him the problem was likely due to exercise strain, and gave him painkillers to ‘get him through’ the worst of it.
Three weeks later the back pain remained and a new symptom had cropped up — Rob's appetite had all but disappeared.
Rob is a gym fanatic, working out most days and trying his hand at various fitness challenges
After weeks of constant pain he was finally offered a scan that spotted testicular cancer
He went to his local urgent care department, only to be prescribed more pain medication and refused a blood test.
But the following morning his condition took a dramatic turn.
'It was really early in the morning and I was throwing up blood and bile,' he recalled. 'So I knew something was up.'
He went straight to A&E, on the advice of his mother, where doctors eventually agreed to conduct tests including a CT scan and blood tests.
One astute doctor then asked if he’d ever had pain or swelling in his testicles.
Rob recalled noticing 'extra firmness' in one over the years, but thought little of it until that moment.
Devastatingly, test results revealed he had stage three testicular cancer — meaning the disease had spread to other areas of his body.
Subsequent scans showed a shocking 58 cancerous tumours that had developed in various tissues and organs.
He immediately began an intense treatment plan, including an 'intense and complicated' surgery, as well as chemotherapy.
Rob has since been told he is in remission, with no cancer detected in his body
Testicular cancer most commonly hits men in their 20s and 30s
Losing his hair was one of the most ‘challenging’ things about his diagnosis, Rob said.
'You just look sick. I hated the fact that I looked that way, but there was nothing I could do about it.'
Rob has since finished his treatment and tests have revealed that he is in remission, with no cancer detectable in his body.
'That was a really good moment,' he said, 'I was crying with my mum in the room. It's very rewarding to go through an entire battle like that then see these moments of progress.
'You realise you're getting healthier, and you're getting better. It can get emotional, but it's like happy tears.'
Testicular cancer is most likely to affect men in their late 20s and early 30s, according to Cancer Research UK.
The most common symptoms include a lump or swelling in the testicle, a change in shape in the organ or an ache, pain or feeling of heaviness in the area.
It's important to regularly so you know what's normal for you. This makes it easier to notice any changes in the size, look or feel of your testicles, the health service advises.
