As men are encouraged to ‘grow a mo’ for Movember, Jamie Keeble talks to Ruth Addicott about his experience of testicular cancer and the need for more awareness

At the age of 26, Jamie Keeble didn't expect a major health scare. But then he found a lump on one of his testicles, which turned out to be cancer. Now the co-founder of the North Yorkshire food company Heck is sharing his story to encourage other men to check themselves regularly and not to delay seeking treatment if they have any concerns. Luckily, Jamie's cancer was caught early, he had treatment straight away and has made a full recovery.

Testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer in men under 40. The number of men diagnosed has doubled in the last 50 years with more than six men being diagnosed every day. Yet too many men are dying because they put off going to the doctor until it’s too late.

According to new research carried out by Heck ahead of Movember, 90 per cent of men don’t realise that testicular cancer is more likely to affect younger men. Eighty two per cent found it embarrassing to discuss their testicles with a parent or GP. Just four in ten 18 to 24-year-olds would know what to look for, compared with six in ten over-55s.

The findings also revealed a lack of awareness amongst women. Less than half of women (46.8 per cent) said they would know what to feel for when checking their partner’s testicles. And more than 90 per cent of women didn’t realise that younger men were more at risk.

Like many men who are diagnosed with the condition, Jamie was fit and healthy. There was no history of testicular cancer in his family and he had no symptoms until he found a lump earlier this year. “I play football on Wednesday nights and just after I jumped in the shower, I discovered a lump,” he recalls. “I panicked a little bit and knew it wasn’t right so went to my GP the following morning to get it checked.”

The GP said it could be a number of things, but when the results from the scan came back, he discovered it was cancer. “It was very scary and quite a shock,” says Jamie. “At the beginning we didn’t know how serious the tumour was or if it might be spreading. All those worries were going around in my head. I’d never really had an illness before. I’d never had to go to hospital, so it was a lot to take in.”

Jamie was told he would need an operation straight away. He had surgery two days later and was back home within the day. “I was hobbling around for a couple of days and couldn’t do any physical activity, then they recommended a course of chemotherapy,” he says. “When I was first told about the cancer I didn’t really want chemotherapy, but there was about a 35 per cent chance it could come back if I didn’t have it. As it was just one session, I decided to go ahead. I felt a bit car sick for two weeks, but apart from that, it was fine.”

Around 2,300 men were diagnosed with testicular cancer in the UK in 2013 and while survival rates are high, early detection is crucial.

The survey by Heck found that almost one third of Scotsmen and Northern Irishmen never check, and more than one fifth of men in the south west would not seek medical help straight away if they felt something unusual. In the North East, 85 per cent of men said they believe a lot of men find it embarrassing to discuss their testicles with a parent or GP.

The results also found that more than a third of men wouldn’t know what to feel for when checking their testicles, a figure that rose to almost of half (47 per cent) for respondents in London.

Andrew Keeble, co-founder of Heck and Jamie’s dad, says: “Too many men are dying too young, and too many of those are dying from ignorance or embarrassment. We have to bring this disease out into the open and get more guys checking themselves, more often, and speaking up if they feel something’s not quite right.”

Jamie’s experience has inspired all the staff at Heck to get involved in Movember. Heck is an independent family run food business, based in Bedale, North Yorkshire, and makes premium sausages, burgers and meat balls. The business was set up in 2012 by Jamie and his parents, Andrew and Debbie Keeble and is also known for its innovative, more unusual products including chicken sausages and a veggie range replacing meat with quinoa, kale and chia seeds.

They use fresh herbs and focus on small batch production as opposed to mass production. It is one of the last independents in the British sausage industry and won the Telegraph Festival of Business award in 2015. Jamie and his male colleagues will be growing a ‘mo’ to raise awareness. They have also changed the name on the packaging of their popular Chicken Italia from ‘Heck’ to ‘Check’. It will be available in all major supermarkets with five per cent of profits going to charity.

“Testicular cancer is one of the most treatable cancers there are and if it’s caught early, you can make a full recovery and live a normal life,” says Jamie. “I’m very lucky, but it’s only because I discovered it and did something about it straight away. It has made me look at life a bit differently, opening my eyes to how serious it can be and how it can affect people’s lives. I knew nothing about it before I was diagnosed. Now I’m a bit of an expert and have more understanding of people going through it.”

Jamie will be monitored for the next five years, but otherwise, leads a normal life.

“I feel absolutely fine,” he says. “My main message is not to panic and to get your friends and family to help you through it – they helped me through it as well. Don’t be scared to admit you have testicular cancer. You can live a completely normal life, but if you discover a lump, do something about it straight away.”

The ‘Grow a Mo, save a Bro’ campaign is run by The Movember Foundation throughout November to increase awareness of men’s health.

For further info visit uk.movember.com