‘I went in for appendix op but had tumour on undescended testicle’
WHEN Matt Batten went to A&E with terrible pains in his stomach, doctors treated him for suspected appenticitis.
But in the operating theatre they discovered that the Cardiff man actually had a tumour the size of a tennis ball in an undescended testicle.
The cancerous mass was so big that it was pushing against the 42-yearold’s appendix.
“I was in A&E on a Saturday night in absolute agony,” said Matt, recalling the harrowing events of 2017.
“They [the doctors] said to me that it looked like appendicitis and that they would have to operate on me straight away because it felt serious.
“I was in surgery for about two hours, three hours maybe – a lot longer than they anticipated.
“And that’s when they discovered a testicle and a tumour the size of a tennis ball.” Matt said he had been unwell for a significant amount of time before the diagnosis was finally made.
“It was probably about 18 months of not feeling well, not feeling energetic and constantly tired – and it was getting worse and worse,” he said.
“I was getting quite forgetful too and wasn’t on top of things. The problem was primarily around my stomach and groin area, but I had no idea what it could possibly be.”
Following the emergency surgery to remove the cancerous testicle, which was thankfully in the early stages of the disease, he started a short course of chemotherapy at Velindre Cancer Centre in Whitchurch.
But he admitted the emotional impact of his cancer only hit home weeks after his treatment had ended.
“It was weeks later that I started to not feel okay,” he said. “Physically [I was] fine, but mentally it really affected me way more than I anticipated. And it crept up on me. I think I can honestly say I became quite obsessed with thinking about cancer, thinking about why am I so angry, because that was the main feeling.”
After listening to a podcast about mental health on the train, Matt realised he needed help, and he phoned a support line run by Macmillan Cancer Support.
“I honestly didn’t think anything more than I’m just going to phone them up,” he said.
“And I was telling my story to the person on the phone. And he stopped me and went ‘Matthew, can I just check are you talking about two, three years ago?’
“And I was like ‘No, this was about two, three months ago.’ And he went ‘I think you have every right to feel like this.’
“And I thought, well, actually it is okay to feel like this. Suddenly, I felt that I wasn’t losing my mind.”
Maggie’s Cancer on the Velindre site offers vital emotional support to patients. Matt said the support line gave him someone to talk to and referred him to a local support group for people living with anxiety or depression.
He also visited his GP and got referred to counselling.
“Macmillan phoned me back to say they found some of these support groups in your area.
“I’m so grateful that someone had found this group for me.
“That journey started by me picking up that phone and talking to Macmillan, because they were the only ones I could think of that I knew did something with cancer.
“And from that moment onwards, I’ve just become their biggest advocate, because I think they probably saved my life.”
You can listen to Matt’s story in full on Macmillan Wales’ podcast, What Matters to Me, on your favourite podcast app or by visiting www.macmillan.org.uk/podcast .