‘I feel incredibly grateful it was nothing serious’: Greg Rutherford reveals he had a testicular cancer scare after he ignored a lump in lockdown as he urges men to get checked out
- The Olympic athlete, 33, shared a candid post on Thursday about his scare
- Greg explained that when he did have tests done it turned out he had cysts
- Said: ‘I didn’t tell anyone until the physical pain and worry got the better of me’
- Father-of-two also revealed ignoring the lump caused his mental health to suffer
- Sharing his story, Greg encouraged other men to get checked if they’re worried
Greg Rutherford has revealed that he had a testicular cancer scare during lockdown and has urged men to get checked out if they have any worries.
The Olympic athlete, 33, shared a candid post on Thursday saying he didn’t tell anyone, including his wife, ‘until the physical pain and worry got the better of me’.
After finally reaching out to a pal about his worries, Greg explained how he went to the doctors and got checked out and the lump turned out to be cysts.
Scare: Greg Rutherford has revealed that he had a testicular cancer scare during lockdown and has urged men to get checked out if they have any worries (pictured in 2018)
Sharing his story on Instagram, Greg wrote: ‘I’m a lucky man. I have a beautiful, loving family and have enjoyed years of success in a sport I loved.
‘I’ve always felt somewhat invincible physically… but during lockdown that invincibility took a massive knock.
‘While we were all cooped up in our homes doing our best to steady the horrible scenario that covid had created, to put it bluntly, I found a lump on one of my balls.
‘Rather than accept it was there, I ignored it and created distractions like training again and using my physical strength to overpower the unknown.’
Scary: The father-of-two explained how after he went to the doctors and got checked out and the lump turned out to be a cyst (pictured with his wife Susie and two sons Milo and Rex)
The Masterchef 2019 champion went on to explain how ignoring the lump caused his mental health to suffer.
He said: ‘Obviously that didn’t work and my mental health took a bit of a beating when fear set it. I didn’t tell Susie or anyone close to me until the physical pain and worry got the better of me, then I reached out to a friend (@rousseau) who’d suffered badly with testicular cancer.
‘He said what I already knew… GO AND GET IT CHECKED! After an appointment, bloods and a scan I was told it was cysts! BLOODY CYSTS. But most importantly nothing to seriously worry about. I don’t think I’ve felt relief like it.’
Finishing up the very candid caption, Greg added: ‘I’m just here asking everyone to check. Even now, during a pandemic, when I think it’s safe to say we’re fearful of wasting doctors and nurses time.
Emotional: Greg said he was ‘incredibly grateful’ and a ‘lucky man’ to be able to say that his scare was nothing serious
‘If you’re a bloke, grab them and make sure nothings wrong. And if your partner won’t check their own balls, maybe offer to do it for them.
‘I feel incredibly grateful I can say it’s nothing serious, but I’ve also realised that while worrying’s a natural response, it solves nothing. Keep checking and if you find something, take it seriously.’
Greg is a retired British track and field athlete and is married to Susie Verrill, with the pair sharing their two sons Milo, six, and Rex, two.
The Olympian spent lockdown with his family and was adorably interrupted by his boys while giving an interview on how to keep children busy while in isolation amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Greg appeared on BBC Breakfast to discuss how he is managing self-isolation and give tips on how he has kept his kids entertained on Saturday.
However Milo and Rex appeared to have no intention of leaving their dad to get on with the chat, as they hilariously video-bombed the interview.
Viewers at home were left in stitches after watching the ‘relatable’ video, and took to Twitter to express their joy at the light hearted moment.
Greg is not the first celeb to speak out about testicular cancer, with Love Island’s Chris Hughes also urging men to check themselves in January last year.
Just hours before he had revealed that his brother Ben has been diagnosed with cancer. His diagnosis came just weeks after Chris was examined for the condition on live television.
Family: Greg is a father to his two sons Milo, six, and Rex, two. The boys were seen on TV back in March when they hilariously interrupted their dad’s BBC Breakfast interview