As cancers go, cancer of the testis is not common – comprising only one in 500 male cancers. However, testicular cancer happens to be the commonest form of cancer affecting young men between the ages of 15 and 35.
Testicular Cancer
One young man who developed testicular cancer – Major Matt Carr, a strong and physically fit soldier of the Australian Army – has written a book about his experience. It is a book writen in simple, straightforward language, yet informative and inspiring in its message. It is a book that will be of value to any young person who may find themselves unexpectedley facing a diagnosis of cancer, and will give them the reassurance and the courage to fight this disease.
Major Matt Carr, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, Australian Army
In January 2002, Carr – then a 25-year-old officer in one of the Australian Army's crack cavalry regiments – was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer. What followed were things which he had never in his young life anticipated: courses of chemotherapy in hospital, several major surgical operations, a learning process of coming to terms with the diagnosis and developing a personal strategy to fighting the disease. Being diagnosed with cancer has resulted in him learning the value of Yoga, Qi Jong and Surfing, making a re-evaluation of his life and his priorities – and returning to full time work (including a tour of duty with the Army overseas) as a regular Army officer.
Battle Scars - the Book
Battle Scars is a great read – a book in which Carr uses analogies from his military background to describe his personal war against cancer. He compares fighting cancer to Counter-Insurgency (COIN) Operations. He decsribes how one can apply the basic principles of COIN Warfare using the body's as well as external resources to defeat what is, in effect, a civil war created by malignant rogue cells within one's body. He talks in language that anyone who has served in the defence services can understand about using Conventional Forces (Chemotherapy) Artillery Barrage (Radiotherapy) and Special Forces (Surgery) to attack the enemy.
Lessons That Cancer Can Teach You
There are some valuable lessons one can learn by reading Carr's book. "Cancer" he says, "is a disease that has taken so much from me and brought me so close to death – yet it has also given me the strength and confidence to embrace life so much more graciously.’‘
Instead of looking at what cancer has stopped you from doing, he urges, look at what you now have the opportunity to try! If you can change your perspective, the limitations cancer imposes on you become not a drawback to be bemoaned, but an incentive to seize new opportunities. If your illness is stopping you from doing what you wanted to do in life, just re-evaluate the situation. Start afresh and formulate a new list of things you want to do, and then go ahead and do them!
For further Information, see:
- Battle Scars: A Soldier's Strategy for Fighting cancer
- Is testicular cancer increasing?
- An Explanation of Testicular Cancer
Sanjiva Wijesinha - Dr. Sanjiva Wijesinha, Associate Professor at Monash University medical school, writes on health, travel and medical topics.
