Every second counts in fight against cancer

Flicking between TV channels one evening Dermot Earley came across a programme on testicular cancer

Flicking between TV channels one evening Dermot Earley came across a programme on testicular cancer. A couple of months later, in February 2002, he "found something down there that shouldn't be there".

"I went to my doctor and was referred to Michael Corcoran, a urologist at Galway University Hospital."

At the time the 23-year-old was studying in Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), training with the Kildare senior football team for the National League and preparing for the Sigerson Cup with his college. "I was flying fit at the time," he recalls.

Earley met the urologist three days later and was diagnosed. "From day one he was reassuring me that if we caught it early it was curable. I didn't really have time to dwell on the fact that I mightn't survive."

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He drove home and told his parents and family. "Of course they were shocked, but also very supportive. My girlfriend was studying medicine and she was reassuring me. It was a tough drive back to Galway that Sunday though. The operation was the next day."

Earley was due to have played in the first round of the National League that Sunday.

The surgery was successful but, four weeks later, he was told he would need radiotherapy. "The doctor said I had a malignant seminoma that was contained. However, as a precaution, I had to get radiotherapy. I got approximately 17 treatments at the Mater in Dublin. It took three and a half weeks. I had to move back to my parents in Kildare and drive daily up to Dublin."

A friend supplied college lecture notes and Earley had to stop training. A friend gave him champion cyclist Lance Armstrong's book, Every Second Counts, which he read during the treatment. "I found it inspirational. The drive and determination he had to get back and he was even better than before. I finished the radiotherapy in April and went back to college. I played my first game at the beginning of June against Louth. Even though I only played 20 minutes, it felt like I played the whole game."

Later that year Kildare found themselves in a Leinster final against Dublin, which they lost. However, Earley considers this one of his best performances in a Kildare jersey. "I felt I was 100 per cent back, if not even better. I got nominated for an All-Star that year.

"I still have to go back for check-ups. Initially it was every three months, now it's once a year."

The experience has made him more aware of his body. "If something happens now . . . I just want to get it fixed and get back to where I was."