Healthy 27-year-old shocked by fatal cancer diagnosis after accidental football injury prompts doctor visit

A 27-year-old man was diagnosed with testicular cancer in shock and credited an unfortunate tackle during a football match for saving his life.

Liam Landers, from Chelmsford in Essex, had no idea he was suffering from the condition until he collided on the pitch in April last year and accidentally hit an opposing player in the groin with his hand.

After briefly falling to his knees in pain, Landers finished the match, but as the day progressed, his right testicle remained painful and began to swell.

It was only after it had tripled in size and felt firm a few days later that he visited his GP, who referred him for further scans.

Liam Landers, from Chelmsford in Essex, had no idea he was ill until he suffered an on-field collision in April last year, accidentally hitting an opponent’s hand in his groin

a A urologist confirmed that the mass was likely cancerous and that he would need surgery to remove his testicle, as well as heavy chemotherapy.

Now the stockbroker is urging men to get themselves checked, as the condition often has no symptoms.

Mr Landers, who plays for Old Chelmsfordians, told of his ordeal: ‘A punch in the balls saved my life.

The urologist said there could be no symptoms [testicular cancer] When I got hit in the groin, something happened that I didn’t know about.

‘If that incident hadn’t happened during football, I would probably be dead now, in a hospice or fighting for my life.’

He added: ‘We were both trying to head the ball after a corner and we collided and the other player’s hand accidentally hit me in the balls.

‘That [getting hit there] hurts. Normally it would go away after a few minutes, but this took a long time. I went downstairs for a while and then I was okay again.

‘Later that day I noticed that my right testicle was very painful and swollen, but I thought it was from the collision.

‘As the days went by it didn’t get any better and the whole testicle tripled in size. One day I checked it and it became almost instantly rock hard in my hand, it was like a rock.

After briefly falling to his knees in pain, the 27-year-old finished the match, but as the day progressed his right testicle remained painful and began to swell. It was only after the striker claimed it had tripled in size and felt firm days later that he visited his GP who referred him for further scans.

“It was the most bizarre thing I’ve ever experienced. It felt like an out-of-body experience.”

Mr Landers visited his NHS GP twice in two weeks because he was concerned about the swelling.

After the second appointment he was referred for blood tests, CT scans, ultrasounds and PET scans, which ultimately discovered the tumor.

Doctors told him his testicle had to be removed.

In May he underwent surgery. “It was a scary and overwhelming moment. I had tears in my eyes afterwards,” he said.

“It all happened within two or three weeks: from not knowing about it to being gone and in recovery.”

Around 2,500 men in the UK and 10,000 in the US are diagnosed with testicular cancer each year, many in their 20s or 30s.

While about 90 percent of people survive for at least ten years if the disease is caught early, it can spread to other parts of the lower body if it is caught too late. In the UK, the disease kills about one man a week.

In the early stages, testicular cancer may manifest as a hard lump or swelling in the testicle.

The lump is usually painless and can vary considerably in size, but is typically pea-sized and located on the front or side of the testicle.

But not everyone with testicular cancer has a lump in the testicles.

He was stunned when a urologist confirmed that the mass was likely cancerous and that he would need surgery to remove his testicle, as well as gruelling chemotherapy.

Mr Landers visited his NHS GP twice in two weeks, concerned about the swelling. After the second appointment he was referred for blood tests, CT scans, ultrasound scans and PET scans, which eventually found the tumour

Other symptoms may include pain in your testicle or scrotum and a heavy, firm or hard feeling in your scrotum, the NHS says.

Two months later, in August, Mr. Landers underwent an intensive three-week course of chemotherapy to clear up any remaining cancer cells.

He said, “It wasn’t pleasant, but the nurses and the oncologist were great.

‘The first day of chemo I was in the hospital for eight hours. It’s like being on your deathbed and then an hour or two later you just feel tired.

“It was like a wave of hell, but two hours later you felt okay again.”

Now, a year later, he wants to share his story to encourage men to regularly check their genitals for signs that something is wrong.

He added: ‘I didn’t know anything about testicular cancer, I thought I was going to die.

‘Generally speaking, we men are putting things on the back burner because we are so absorbed in our work or studies.

‘I was lucky to survive, so I’m trying to raise awareness so others can recognize it as quickly as I did.’