He was super-fit, followed a healthy diet
and generally looked the picture of health. Yet avid cyclist Charles Solomon
was diagnosed with cancer following a routine test.
Solomon (of Daikin-GU) came in third overall
at Die Burger-fietstoer on 4 December 2011.
As is routine for coming in the top three spots, he was automatically tested for substance abuse
after the race. It was here that medical officials picked up irregularities in
his urine samples and they advised him to seek medical attention. Advice which
he is very glad he took.
A month later he was diagnosed with
testicular cancer.
“Before the diagnosis I would have
considered myself very healthy, I did a lot of running and I completed the
Ironman and represented South Africa in a Duathlon. I ate very healthy,
exercised and led a healthy life style.
“Looking back I had experienced perineum
discomfort before, but overall I felt healthy.
I n fact I went for a prostate check-up six months prior to the
diagnosis and everything was normal,” he said.
Why
early detection is so important
Fortunately for Solomon he heeded the medical
advice he was given and went for an ultrasound exam and blood test where he was
diagnosed with testicular cancer.
He subsequently underwent surgery to remove
one testicle and underwent two sessions of chemotherapy treatments over a
period of three weeks.
“The doctors told me the tumour was very
small and was most probably not older than two months,” he said.
Three months later tests revealed the
treatments had been a success and he is now in remission.
“I am still struggling with nerve pain on
my perineum, and cannot cycling at the moment. But my advice to other men is to
go for regular check-ups and just because you lead a healthy life does not
excluded you.
“You only have one body - look after it.”
Do you have a similar story to share?
E-mail us at community@health24.com
For more information on men’s health and testicular cancer visit our Men’s Health section.