On Monday 12th March I will have my second observation check up with my cancer consultant. This will mark 6 months of being cancer free!

While the impact of my testicular cancer is still being felt, it is certainly not as consuming as it was half a year ago. I still have to return to hospital every 3 months for my observation check ups, I still have the small voice in the back of my mind saying ‘it may come back’ and I’m probably a little more in touch with my emotional side than I was previously (that stays between me and you though!)

However, physically I am healed and my body is slowly turning into a running machine that will hopefully break a world record in a few months time.

I have realised over the last 6 months how important it is to have help and support when dealing with something like this. All the way through my treatment I kept a brave face and was telling jokes and not taking things too seriously. It wasn’t too long though before I came to terms with the fact that I couldn’t actually handle what I was going through alone.

I think this is why I have chosen to take on such a huge challenge in attempting to break a world record. I feel it is my responsibility to help anyone going through testicular cancer see that it is ok to talk about it and accept the support available.

From a very personal perspective, I don’t feel like I have fully come to terms with what I went through. If I am completely honest, I think my running training and record attempt planning has proven to be a distraction from listening to my thoughts, feelings and emotions. I know there are still things I need to accept and I am sure I will seek support somewhere down the line when I am ready to talk about them.

For now all my effort is going into raising awareness of testicular cancer and making sure anyone who has to hear the words ‘you have cancer’ knows that they are far from alone and the right thing to do is talk about it and seek the help you need.

There really is so much support available for people dealing with cancer. All I can say is please do not feel embarrassed to ask for help, support, advice or anything else you may need.

If we all start talking about testicular cancer then we can all beat it together!