James' Story

James' friend (left) and James (right) at a CanTeen camp.

I had a lump for nearly seven years before I told anyone about it, so when I had it checked out and they told me it was testicular cancer in a way I was prepared for it.I had an operation and then four rounds of chemo that went for three weeks at a time. I didn't go back to school for half a year, and during the treatment I didn't really talk about it with anyone apart from my best friend; I just kept to myself and denied that I had cancer.

CanTeen has helped me so much and I've made so many friends that I think that cancer was actually the best thing that ever happened to me. CanTeen is really inclusive, so it's not like school because everyone is there for the same things and we all get along because we all have one thing in common, cancer.

Apart from the emotional help I have received through the discussion groups and activities, CanTeen has given me so many opportunities.

I am part of the Teen Linking program to introduce other young people to CanTeen, and I give speeches at schools to raise awareness of cancer. A few other people from CanTeen and I are planning to set up a group for people who have had testicular cancer, so I hope to work on that in the future.

For National Bandanna Day I've been getting the whole school involved and putting bandannas in shops around my town. I used to think why bother with CanTeen when I didn't really know what it was, but now I know that you can't put things off because you don't know if it's going to happen to you.

James Henderson, Patient Member, VIC