Lewis Gould was in his second year at university, balancing lectures, revision and rugby when he first noticed a dull ache in his left testicle.
It wasn’t sharp or constant. It didn’t interfere with his day-to-day life. So he dismissed it.
‘I just thought it would go away,’ says Lewis, now 21. ‘It wasn’t bad enough to worry about.’
In December 2024, as the term came to an end and Christmas approached, he carried on as normal. Exams, training and social events took priority and the discomfort remained in the background.
It was his girlfriend who finally persuaded him to get it checked out.
‘She handed me my phone and told me to call the GP. That was the only reason I did anything about it,’ he says.
At the appointment, the situation shifted quickly.
‘The doctor examined me and said he could feel a lump. I was taken aback. I’d never checked myself before and didn’t even know it was there.’
Lewis Gould, now 21, was in his second year at university when he first noticed a dull ache in his left testicle
University of Hull Law student Lewis – pictured playing rugby – was diagnosed with testicular cancer at just 20 years old
He was referred for an ultrasound scan, followed by an oncology appointment the next day.
‘That’s when I first heard the word “cancer”,’ he says. ‘At 20, it’s not something you expect to hear.’
Doctors explained they could not confirm the diagnosis without surgery as a biopsy was not possible due to the position of the lump.
It was recommended that he have a surgical procedure called an orchiectomy to remove the testicle.
‘That’s when the penny dropped,’ he says. ‘A lot of thoughts were rushing through my head. I was asking lots of questions, like “can I still have kids?”, “is it still going to work down there?”, “What’s it going to look like?”‘
He asked if there were any other options. There wasn’t.
‘So that was it, and I had my surgery booked in the same week.’
‘Phoning my mum and telling her what was happening was the hardest part because she was very worried about me – especially as I was away from home.
‘I tried to be very calm about it and put on a brave face because I didn’t want to worry anyone else.’
Lewis’s mother travelled to Hull from their home in Northampton to be with him for the surgery on December 19, 2024.
‘I was definitely a bit nervous because I didn’t know how much it was going to hurt or how long the recovery would be,’ he says.
‘It only took about half an hour and I couldn’t believe that I was sitting at home watching TV at the end of the day like nothing had happened.’
Lewis was given a testicular prosthesis, a silicone or saline-filled implant which mimics the size and feel of a natural testicle.
In the short term, while he recovered, Lewis had to stop playing rugby or go to the gym – something he admits was a challenge.
After spending two weeks recovering at his parents’ home in Northampton, he went back to Hull for his oncology appointment.
Men should perform a self-exam at least once a month and go to their GP if they notice any changes or pain
That’s when he was told he had stage 1 seminoma, the earliest form of testicular cancer.
Because the disease had been caught early, it had not spread to nearby lymph nodes or other organs. This meant he would not need any other treatment.
‘When they told me it was cancer, I was obviously very nervous about what could come next,’ he says.
‘But at the same time, I was glad that they had removed the testicle and that, hopefully, the cancer was gone.
‘When I found out I didn’t need any more treatment, my friends and I went for a big night out to celebrate.’
In the months since, he has returned to university life and attends regular check-ups.
‘Things are pretty much back to normal now,’ he says.
He is now an ambassador for The OddBalls Foundation, speaking to students about testicular cancer and the importance of checking for changes.
‘I’d never checked myself before this,’ he says. ‘That’s something I’ve definitely changed.’
Around 2,400 men are diagnosed with testicular cancer in the UK each year, according to Cancer Research UK. It is one of the most common cancers in younger men, particularly those aged 25 to 49.
Survival rates are high, with more than 90 per cent of patients living at least ten years after diagnosis, particularly when the disease is detected early.
Looking back, Lewis believes the outcome could have been very different.
‘If I hadn’t been pushed to get it checked, I probably would have left it much longer,’ he says. ‘By that point, it could have spread and needed more treatment.’
His advice is straightforward.
‘Check yourself regularly. It takes seconds. If something doesn’t feel right, get it looked at. Even if it turns out to be nothing, it’s better to know.’
