Check the lights, check your bauballs

Steve Prout, aged 41 of Green Lane, was a fit and healthy 36-year-old when he was given the devastating news that he had testicular cancer.
In May 2010, he had noticed a lump while showering and as it was still there six-weeks later, he went to get it checked out by his GP.
Tests confirmed that it was testicular cancer and the scan showed a cancerous mass about the size of a ping pong ball.
He said: “Cancer wasn’t something I gave a second thought to prior to my diagnosis and I assumed I’d simply overdone it on the exercise bike.
“I went into complete shock. I was still relatively a young man; what if I wasn’t there to see my son grow up?
“It was really just the shock initially. You just get this out of body experience. You see it on television and it’s similar to that – as though you are looking at it from a different perspective.”
He had an operation to remove his testicle and after surgery Mr Prout had one cycle of gruelling chemotherapy which he said was exhausting and hit him the hardest.
He said: "It was like the worst jet lag I'd ever had."
But the operation and chemotherapy worked and he now has regular check ups.
He said: “I can’t wait to reach the five-year all-clear marker in 2014.
“It’s not an automatic death sentence, yes it’s tough but I do believe that you come out of it better, stronger person.
“People can say they understand, but unless they have faced it they can only offer lip service.”
Mr Proud is now encouraging the people of Newbury and Thatcham to buy the testicle shape ‘bauball’ to raise awareness of testicular cancer and to fund life saving research.
The UK’s male cancer charity, Orchid, has created testicle-shaped tree ornaments for a Christmas ‘Check Your Bauballs’ testicular cancer awareness campaign.
Mr Prout said that there was not much that people could do to stop getting testicular cancer but that there was a lot they could do to notice if something was not right.
He added: “A lot of it is about awareness – The quicker you can get in there the better.”
You can grab a ‘Bauball’ for £5 each from selected House of Fraser or online at http://www.checkyourbauballs.com
Orchid is the UK’s leading charity focused exclusively on male-specific cancers.