Before Steve Greenwood was diagnosed in September 2011, the possibility of getting testicular cancer had never entered his mind. At 20-years-old, he was working hard as a labourer, hanging out with his mates and was generally getting up to mischief - like most young men.
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When he first felt a lump and began having pain in his left testical, Steve became concerned.
“It felt as though someone was constantly hitting it,” he explained.
He immediately went into the doctors who referred him to Calvary Hospital. After a long process, a CT scan revealed cancer in his testical and it was moving towards his stomach. It was immediately diagnosed as testicular cancer.
“I had chemo immediately,” he told the Tribune earlier this week. “I was young and would bounce back. They went in aggressively.
“I had three stages with three weeks of chemo in each stage. It was a full week the first week and five hours a day each Monday for the following two, a week off before the process started again.”
Because he was young and had always been healthy, Steve found the news shocking.
“It stuffed me around for a bit, it was pretty crazy at the time, but I got over it quick,” he said.
Steve was living on Burrunjuck Road at the time with his parents, who supported him from home. Outside of his homelife he received overwhelming support from his friends.
“The guys organised a golf day to raise money for me. The whole community came through and it was pretty amazing. It was around my third week of chemo at the time, but I was still able to make it and it was a great day."
Steve said it was a difficult experience, but he was glad that it had happened to him and not his mates.
“I didn’t change much because of it, but I think I changed a little afterwards. I was a bit of a smart a--e back in the day, it knocked me around a fair bit, so I was just glad it was me and not one of my mates getting hurt, that would have been hard.
“I just knew I had to keep going and bounce back... I knew I had my family and friends supporting me which kept me going”.
After around three months of chemo and six months of feeling weak, Steve recovered to his full strength. Four years on, at 24, he now works as a farmer for Ravensworth and describes his employers as extremely supportive.
“I have to get a checkup each three months and a CT scan every six months,” he explained.
“It’s so important to check yourself regularly for changes. It only takes a few minutes and it could end up saving your life.”
