 and is relatively well-known, frequently the target of 'check your balls' campaigns, but Ryan never had the usual signs. 'Not once did I have a heaviness or a lump,' he says. 'The lump was round the back so I wouldn't have been able to feel it.' Worst fears confirmed Within days Ryan was taking his first course of chemotherapy. Sean visited to see him through his treatment. The morning after he went home, Sean found his own testicle had doubled in size. 'I would probably have assumed it was an infection and it would go away,' admits Sean. 'I think most blokes would brush it off and think it'd sort itself out. Who knows how far along that would have been?' After he explained to a doctor about his twin brother's own recent diagnosis, Sean was told it 'probably wasn't anything to worry about – the chances of us both having cancer was like 0.001 per cent'. Still, for his peace of mind Sean was sent for a scan. Ten days later, his worst fears were confirmed. 'Ryan had it worse and his treatment was worse,' says Sean. 'Seeing him going in for chemo, getting the canulas, seeing it all left me slightly prepared.' With that in mind, Sean told his parents to stay with Ryan, who lives and works in London, while he had an orchiectomy alone in the North East. The surgery went well and while another small lump was detected, doctors weren't worried. Meanwhile in the South, Ryan's chemo was working – his back pain had vanished because the tumour in his stomach had shrunk. The bad news was that it wasn't working fast enough. He'd need more. Financial aid At this juncture, Macmillan Cancer Support came to Ryan's aid. Like many patients, he was put in touch with counselling and advice, but he's most grateful for their financial support. 'When you're going through chemo, you can't work, so how are you going to pay your rent?' he says. 'Work pay){kind=link}
The Collard twins were diagnosed with testicular cancer within three weeks of one another
Most would greet the life-changing news that they have cancer at just 23 with terror. Sean Collard felt resignation. “It wasn’t as hard-hitting as it might have been,” he says. “I knew what was coming.”
That’s because three weeks earlier, Sean’s twin brother Ryan had also been diagnosed with testicular cancer. Sean’s had been caught early but Ryan’s was already at Stage 3. So while most young men his age would be panicking at their own cancer diagnosis, Sean was more concerned about his brother’s.
In June 2017, nine weeks prior, Ryan had just finished his NQT year and was looking forward to a well-earned summer holiday ahead of starting his first term as a fully qualified teacher in September.
He was in good shape with nothing more than a few back pains from pushing himself too hard on the football pitch, until during a boat trip, his legs ceased to work. “I sat down and then for the next half hour I just couldn’t stand up,” Ryan explains. “I thought I’d been spiked but felt completely sober. Eventually, it passed and I could stand up again. It was weird but I felt normal again, so we didn’t really talk about it.”