I'm running my first Marathon in Amsterdam on 18th October in aid of It's On The Ball, who's primary aim is to help raise awareness of Testicular Cancer and to support those who have been diagnosed with it.

My Experience

I was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer in 2024 after noticing something that just didn't feel right. Hearing the words "you have cancer" completely broke me and shattered my worldview. It's one of those phrases that you never expect to be hear about yourself and it really put into perspective just how fragile life can be. Despite this, I feel incredibly lucky that it was caught early meaning I only needed surgery and one round of chemo. However, it was still by far the darkest and toughest point in my life and I will be forever grateful to the team of doctors and nurses for the amazing work they do, to It's On The Ball for the support pack they sent me, as well as to my friends, family and colleagues who supported me during my treatment and made the darkness that bit lighter.

So Why Run a Marathon?

Well, after finishing chemo my body was completely ruined, I had no energy and felt incredibly weak. I had to start completely from scratch to build my health and fitness back up and to do this I turned to running. As daunting as a marathon is, it feels like the perfect event to really challenge myself, to prove that I am now fitter and healthier than before my cancer diagnosis and to hopefully help spread awareness of Testicular Cancer.

How Will Your Donations Help?

Testicular Cancer is the most common form of cancer found in men aged 18-35 and I feel like it doesn't get the awareness it deserves and more people need know about it and its symptoms.

£60 will provide one patient support pack which provides everything needed to help a patient going through treatment. As mentioned above, I received one of these myself during chemo as seen below and it definitely helped make things that little bit easier (cats are unfortunately not included in the packs, Leo just loves the camera!)

Other ways your generosity will help include:

• £100 will fund one awareness session for 100 people

• £200 will fund 40 awareness packs

• £500 will fund 12,000 leaflets to help increase awareness of Testicular Cancer and the symptoms to look out for

Where Can I Learn More?

More information can be found on It's On The Ball's website - https://itsontheball.org/get-support/testicular-cancer/

Thank you for taking the time to read my story, any donations will mean the world to me!

Also if any of you reading this ever feel something that seems off, then please get checked out!

Thanks,

Charlie