Doctors told me the cancer would give my body a beating and it did... I was so weak I could hardly walk
Tannadice ace Ryan on testicular tumour battle
RYAN EDWARDS is unlikely to be fazed by the Premiership after the Dundee United new boy bravely won his battle with testicular cancer.
The 26-year-old signed a two-year deal at Tannadice this week after making the switch from League One Blackpool.
The 6ft 5in defender played for Plymouth too, although his biggest challenge at Home Park came off the pitch when diagnosed with cancer in 2017.
He said: “I first saw a doctor after the Oldham game just before Christmas.
“What it was, I found a lump in my testicle about a month beforehand and thought nothing of it.
“My brother had one in the past and it only ended up being a cyst, so we were saying that it could just be that.
“But it seemed to be getting bigger and I was getting a lot more shooting pains.
“When that was happening I thought I had to go and get it seen to.
“I was coming home from training and I found myself napping on the couch. I just thought that was normal.
“Our training is pretty intense, we work hard. But when it kept happening, coming home after training and sleeping – I found myself reading a book and dozing off – I thought, ‘This isn’t me’.
“I spoke to my family and got it checked out. Lucky enough I did because I caught it at a pretty early stage.
“It was one of the most aggressive tumours so I’m lucky I wasn’t afraid to go and speak to someone.”
The Liverpudlian admitted the news he needed to undergo immediate surgery to get the tumour removed hit him for six when he was playing under Derek Adams at Plymouth.
Edwards said: “We sat down – myself, the doctor, Paul the physio and Derek.
“We had a chat for an hour on the Wednesday, got told what it was, spoke through what it was, what I could be expecting, what not to expect and they were great with me – spot on. They said if I needed to go home that night that they’d sort me to be with my family.
“But I chose what I thought was best at the time, to speak to the family and tell them that I was going to carry on as normal.
“Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t like being the centre of attention, I don’t like all the fuss.
“That is just the way I am. I spoke with the manager and I thought we would keep it between us and we will tell the lads when it is time to go get surgery and at the time I couldn’t play any more.”
Edwards started the long road back to recovery but he admitted the chemotherapy and radiotherapy were so draining there were days he could hardly walk, never mind dream of pulling on the boots again. He said: “You’re told as you’re getting treated that it’s going to take a toll on your body and give it a good beating – and that’s what it did.
“Getting out of the house for just a 15 to 20-minute walk with the dog was about it – that tired me out.
“I had to go back to the car one day as I was drained and felt I had nothing left – I was absolutely exhausted. “As time goes on, you start feeling stronger and stronger and you can start doing a bit more and gradually building stuff up.” Edwards did precisely that and was back playing at the start of the 2018-19 season, scoring in the opening League One game against Walsall after which he was flooded by delighted team-mates. Edwards moved on to Blackpool last summer and was a main player until Neil Critchley took over in March. That opened the door for United boss Micky Mellon to land his longterm target earlier this week.
It was one of the most aggressive tumours so I’m lucky RYAN EDWARDS