It was like a death sentence – testicular cancer survivor

Iain Batten, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2003 and is one of the founders of the African Survivor Foundation (ASF) recently addressed members of the public regarding his experience and their cause at a local Coffee Shop and Grill.

Batten on a chilly morning told his story of pain and suffering since he was diagnosed. It is a story of a single dad, who was strong and healthy with two daughters who was suddenly faced with this illness. He initially felt overwhelmed and angry with God. When he ended up in hospital, the pain was unbearable and he physically turned grey.

He explained there are no symptoms in the early stages, symptoms only starts in stage three and four and then it is already too late. He was tested, and it was revealed that he was already in stage three of testicular cancer.

“It was like a death sentence,” Batten said.

Panic overcame him and he researched all he could on testicular cancer, treatment and if any, survivors.

He also started asking questions to find out if members of his family had cancer, and then found out there was more than one member that suffered at the hands of this illness. He went through several chemo treatments and described how the body hardly keeps any nutrients in between the treatments. In 2009 he got the news that there were lumps found on both sides of his lungs. After he found out, he decided that he can not go through with more chemotherapy sessions but after that became very ill.

He was alone in his room when he heard a voice and he knew it was God telling him: “My son, stand up and no longer keep quiet”.

Since then he went back for the “Red devil chemo” that involved 15 chemo treatments including morphine. His recovery was slow but he pulled through and now he is passionate about ASF.

At this cozy morning meeting another ASF founder, Gert de Beer spoke about his fear and anxieties of recently discovering a lump. He is still in the process of finding out if it is malignant cancer. He also performed on the morning, singing a song about cancer called “A better day” while strumming his acoustic guitar.

The ASF, which is a non profit organisation ( NPO) consists of the following members: Iain Batten, Gert De Beer, Abraham Machava and Mirriam Batalisi.

Their objective is to create and implement innovative way to reach, educate and inform men and women in South Africa as well as Africa about the possible impact of life threatening diseases in their lives. To equip and support them in there fight against these illnesses.The main focus is to establish healthy practices, to minimize and prevent negative impact of these diseases, and to create awareness in our society and in all communities.

A very crucial part of this awareness it to educate men to do self evaluation in order to detect an early onset of testicular cancer. This includes all boys and even single mothers who can teach her sons about this serious illness. They illustrated this by an easy step by step guide to evaluate yourself. A strong point that was brought across was illuminate the stigma surrounding cancer. A cancer survivor remains a man even after he had surgery and people living with cancer wants to be treated like any other human being.

Another perception is that testicular cancer is a “white man’s decease” and therefore cancer sufferers do not come to light and they do not seek help.

ASF would like the community to invite them to their schools, churches, interest groups and events. In order to implement the various projects in South Africa and Africa, they need partners to invest in there vision. Any sponsorships and donations are welcome.

Cartridge gave and Camelot Coffee shop was thanked for all their contributions and help.