IF YOU CAN cast your mind back this far, Chris Hughes (of Love Island Kem-and-Chris fame), was on This Morning to take part in a live examination for testicular cancer from a doctor. (You can watch it back here, if you fancy.)

He was widely praised for taking part, in an effort to encourage men to do self check-ups regularly. (Recent reports suggest 68% of men don’t know how to properly self-examine in this area.)

Prior to this, Chris underwent four surgeries on his testicles after first noticing problems, which stemmed from a varicocele, six years previous, saying he put it off as the issue “didn’t come with a lot of pain”.

After his appearance on the show, his older brother Ben, was prompted to check himself.

In an Instagram post of the pair as children, Chris explained how Ben “came into my room at 3am the morning after my testicular examination on tv, clearly struggling to sleep, telling me he’d found a lump and asked me if he’s checking it right”. After advising him to go to the doctor, Ben was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

This week, Chris returned to This Morning with brother Ben in tow to affirm the importance of self-examinations.

ITV ITV

“To be completely honest, I had never checked before,” he said. “I text [Chris] after the show and said, ‘you are so, so brave, I can’t believe you did that.’

I came in late [that night], laid in bed and I thought, ‘I’ll just check.’”

Ben proceeded to text his brother in the next room to see if he was awake and if he could confirm his worst suspicions. The pair agreed Ben would visit his GP the following day.

After undergoing an ultrasound, he was referred to a specialist and was told the bad news – Ben had testicular cancer.

What exactly did Ben feel that prompted the call to the doctor?

He described it as “a nut-size ball” on the size of his testicle. However, he stressed that size can often vary when it comes to tumours.

As of right now, Ben is awaiting the results of his CT scan to see if the cancer has spread. In the mean time, he will be having an operation to remove the testicle. 

Chris described his shock at the reality of the situation, and how is appearance continues to have a positive impact on men, young and old – something which Ben reiterated.

If he hadn’t done it, I’d still be in the dark now.”

You can watch the interview below or by clicking here.

The Irish Cancer Society Nurseline is available on Freephone 1800 200 700 during weekdays as well as anytime through email, social media and through our online community on cancer.ie.

DailyEdge is on Instagram!