Young Emirati given life-saving care after testicular cancer diagnosis urges men to get checked

A young Emirati has urged men to get checked for testicular cancer to avoid the same ordeal he endured.

Engineer Omar Al Ahmadi was only 27 when he woke up to what he described as the most severe pain he had ever felt.

At first, he thought the pain could be managed with painkiller tablets but it was not long before he was forced to take a late-night trip to the accident and emergency department.

It became apparent that he was suffering from testicular cancer so advanced that he would need to undergo an arduous chemotherapy programme. Doctors told him that if he had come just a few weeks earlier, it was likely the cancer would have been at a much less severe stage.

“It was a massive pain,” the now 31-year-old said. “Like someone stabbing you.” His first trip to the hospital to deal with the pain saw doctors giving him painkillers and telling him it would clear in a week. It soon became apparent that this would not be the case.

Mr Al Ahmadi arrived at the emergency department at about 2am. Painkillers had temporarily eased his symptoms, but he insisted on being examined by a urologist. During the assessment, a lump was detected.

It was the hardest thing I’ve lived through Omar Al Ahmadi

Need for awareness

“I hadn’t noticed anything,” he said. “As men, we don’t check ourselves. No one talks about these things the way women do with breast cancer.”

He was asked to return at 9am to see consultant urologist Dr Walid Hassan, who examined him and immediately admitted him.

“Testicular cancer, although it is a rare cancer overall, is one of the most common cancers in young men,” said Dr Hassan.

“It typically affects those between the ages of 15 and 30. Other cancers tend to be diseases of ageing, but testicular cancer is the most common cancer in this young age group.”

Omar Al Ahmadi endured a tough battle with testicular cancer but knows the consequences could have been worse. Victor Besa / The National

Following examination and imaging, Mr Al Ahmadi underwent surgery at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi to remove the affected testicle. When the biopsy results were ready, consultant medical oncologist Dr Mohamed Al Masri confirmed the diagnosis.

“I was told I had stage 2B testicular cancer,” Mr Al Ahmadi said. “They told me if I had come two or three weeks earlier, it would have been early stage one. Because I came late, it was the end of stage two.