Actor Jack James Ryan "never anticipated" the lasting effect on his mental health after battling testicular cancer.
The Manchester-born actor was just 19 when he received the news he had been diagnosed with the condition, despite initially believing it was something that only affected older men. However, testicular is most common in men aged between 15 - 49. The severity of the condition depends on the type of cancer, how big it is and if it has spread.
Testicular cancer symptoms include a lump or swelling in a testicle, testicles getting bigger, an ache or pain in the testicle or scrotum, the scrotum feeling heavy, firm or hard. The NHS also states that symptoms include an ache or pain in your tummy or back, losing weight without trying, a cough and a sore or swollen chest.
But Jack, now 27, admits he had no idea how the diagnosis would play out in his later life – despite being in remission from the condition. The star who has appeared in the likes of Passenger and Coronation Street has now teamed up as a Movember ambassador – raising awareness of mens mental health and encouraging lads to speak up.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Jack admits it was "humbling" to be asked to take part in the campaign, having been able to identify with mental health struggles following his cancer journey. "Whilst it was an awful experience to have to go through at the time, the lasting mental health effects of it was something I could have never anticipated," he said. Jack went on to add: "Still to this day, I struggle with body image issues because of my operation – that inner voice can get really loud and damaging at times, this is why I've always been vocal about my experience and tried my best to raise awareness and be the voice that I felt I never had. Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young men, which is something I had no idea about until I went through it myself."
Reflecting on his diagnosis at such a young age, Jack went on to say: "It's weird to say but one of the better things about getting a diagnosis with testicular cancer as apposed to others, it can be, if you find it early a treatable cancer. Whilst operations, chemotherapy are difficult and traumatic, I don't think enough people talk about after being in remission, is the years after is trying to deal with the trauma of what you went through and how that impacts you for probably the rest of my life."
Jack said that the earlier men get checked if they discover anything unusual, there is a more rapid chance of having the lump removed and having a more positive outcome. Men have spoken to Jack, informing them that they had found a lump on their testicles, with some explaining it had been there for months.
"I'm like 'No, go and get it checked! It's probably going to be nothing but don't put it off because that's when things can start to get more difficult'," he explained. But Jack understands that men may put off going to their doctors, or an ultrasound scan due to the sensitive nature of the condition.
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Instagram)"Sometimes, you've just got to bite the bullet and just go for it and look after yourself," he said. Jack, who is set to star alongside Sheridan Smith in the ITV true crime series, I Fought the Law first shared his cancer story with the Mirror. Speaking of his decision to go public in 2022, he said: "It was so strange when I knew that I was going to speak about it, I made an agreement about I was going to open up about it but I wasn't prepared for what was to come after that."
Although he says he was "incredibly scared" about sharing such personal news, Jack believes he made the right decision as it had been "incredibly empowering." He commented: "I no longer feel shame over what happened to me. But just pride in what I've been able to achieve in spite of it."
Reflecting on joining the Movember campaign, he said: "I was already well aware of the amazing work that Movember has done and do for raising awareness and funds for male mental health, just to be a small part of history moving forward is very exciting. It's such an exciting project and really meaningful project to get behind, male mental health is so under reported and so unspoken about."
This year, the tongue-in-cheek All Mos Save Live Campaigns is the 21st year of fundraising from the Movember team. The initial idea came after one ion three Brits discovered that not being able to grow a moustache as the biggest barrier of getting involved to help the cause. Almost one quarter of men said they couldn't grow a moustache or were not satisfied with the ones they were able to grow.
For more information about Movember and how to get involved visit https://uk.movember.com/register
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