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Wednesday, 14 June, 2017
A Star News Group publication Phone: 5945 0666 Classifieds: 1300 666 808
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■ A chance radio warning saved a young footballer from deadly disease…
Life-saving alert By Russell Bennett Just a few weeks ago, Ben Collins heard about young Melbourne spearhead Jesse Hogan’s testicular cancer diagnosis over the radio in the car on the way to work. Days later, the Kooweerup Football Club senior captain-coach sent Hogan a text message telling him he might just have saved his life. Collins’ doctor estimated he’d had testicular cancer for about six months before it was diagnosed in May. He’s since had surgery to have it removed, and a few days ago he met up with another player from the local footy fraternity - Longwarry’s Nathan Sullivan - to talk about their shared battle. They were diagnosed within days of each other. Sullivan, a former ROC player, and Collins - a former premiership player at Beaconsfield, Cora Lynn, and Belgrave - had never had a conversation before then, despite facing off in the Ellinbank and District league last season. The significance of where they met up, the Tooradin Sports Club, wasn’t lost on them either. It’s just metres from where late Gulls champion - and cancer sufferer - Beau Miller showcased his sublime skills. “The reason I’m happy to get this out there is because if we can influence someone else to get themselves checked, and if that person has it and it’s caught early, then this is all worthwhile,” Collins said of his and Sullivan’s battle. “Jesse Hogan’s situation pushed me into getting checked and I actually texted him and said that, without wanting to dramatise it, I only got checked because he came out publically and said he had it. “The doc reckons I’d had it for six months before I was diagnosed. I had no pain - it was tender, but it didn’t hurt.” Testicular cancer is the second most common form of cancer in young men aged between 18 and 39, but the five-year survival rate of those diagnosed is close to 98 per cent. In both Collins’ and Sullivan’s case, it was caught in the early stages. “Everyone thinks they’re invincible until something like this happens to them,” Sullivan said. “I never wanted to make a fuss about it because I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me. You see people going to chemo six times a week who’re just holding on, so I don’t make too much of a big deal about this but if I did let it go, I could have been in the same position.”
For more, turn to the front of the Football liftout.
Once foes on the field, but brothers in this cancer fight ... Ben Collins (left) and Nathan Sullivan. 169458
Picture: RUSSELL BENNETT
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