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Byron Geldard, a 19-year-old teenager from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, found out he had testicular cancer by taking a pregnancy test.
After complaining of pain in his side, the teenager went to a local hospital in Kavos for an ultrasound. The scans showed that Geldard had tumors spreading in his lungs which doctors identified as cancer.
However, his doctors were not able to pinpoint what kind of cancer Geldard was suffering from.
He was referred to the Teenage Cancer Trust unit in Cambridge where he was instructed to take a pregnancy test to check if the tumor produces hormones associated with pregnancy as well as testicular cancer.
These days, pregnancy tests are becoming widely used as confirmatory tests to diagnose or rule out testicular cancer. The hCG hormone, which is present among pregnant women, is produced by this type of cancer. According to the Teenage Cancer Trust, pregnancy tests had been used to detect testicular cancer for six years now.
“It is used for people of all ages but the results are analysed in conjunction with scans and blood tests,” a spokeswoman for Teenage Cancer Trust explained.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Geldard said: “I gave the hospital a urine sample, the pregnancy test came back positive, and I started chemotherapy the day after I was diagnosed.”
Doctors diagnosed Geldard with stage 4 testicular cancer, which had also reached his abdomen and lungs, just a day before the release of his A-level results.
After his diagnosis, Geldard underwent several cycles of chemo and surgeries to remove tumor growths in his testicle, abdomen, as well as the lymphatic system behind his stomach.
Just this year, the male teenager who had a positive pregnancy test was declared free of cancer.
“Cancer is no longer a death sentence and I would like to spread that message,” said Geldard, who now serves as the ambassador for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
You can help Geldard raise funds Teenage Cancer Trust by visiting this link.
