Jack James Ryan, 25, has opened up about his shock cancer discovery when he was a teenager after he found a lump, and was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
The actor who appears as Jacob on Coronation Street has been starring on the show for around a year, after first appearing on the show tormenting Simon.
Jack hopes that his story can be used in soaps to raise awareness.
The actor has said he felt “really lucky” to be alive and to have caught cancer early.
He has bravely revealed that while staying at his mum’s house during the Easter holidays, he was stunned.
(Image: ITV)
After discovering the lump, h immediately called for his family, explaining to the Mirror: “I told my mum what I found.
“It was a trainee doctor and she was a young, pretty girl. I could tell she felt just as awkward as I did.
“There was a male doctor supervising, but she was the one who had to examine me and feel it. It was a bit of a mad experience.”
Jack had to undergo surgery to have his testicle removed, which was replaced with a prosthetic, he also had chemotherapy to ensure that his cancer hadn’t spread.
Four months later he returned to his studies that the Guildford School of Acting in Surrey.
The ordeal took its toll on Jack’s mental health, and he struggled to go on dates and become intimate with anyone.
He went through talking therapies and wrote a play about his experience called Me and My Left Ball two years later in 2019.
Jack was worried about having to cry in front of people and bottled all his emotions up. He said: “I was really scared, and I probably needed to cry, but I thought if I stayed strong then everybody else would feel okay about it.
“I always thought testicular cancer was an old man’s cancer, so once I recovered, I wanted to speak out to other young men and tell them to get themselves checked out.
Jack is now a Teenage Cancer Trust supporter, and said the work that the Teenage Cancer Trust nurses do is “incredibly impactful.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
