David's Story

David Sing, 31, from Liverpool was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2012. David said:

“I was 25 at the time and cancer wasn’t something I thought was going to affect me. I was sent for a scan and was then diagnosed but I didn’t really take it all in at first. I was operated on within a week. My left testicle had two tumours on it and that was removed.

“I was given a course of nine weeks of chemotherapy including cisplatin which Cancer Research UK helped develop.” David had surgery and chemotherapy at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Birkenhead. He said, “The moment I went in for my first chemo session and saw a frail lady who’d lost her hair, that’s when reality hit me.

“When my doctor told me I was going to lose all my hair after having chemotherapy, I decided to dye my hair bright orange in the Stand Up To Cancer colours. I wanted to raise money but also wanted to make things a little more light hearted through such a hard time and luckily it worked for both of those.

“My friends organised a charity football match too - I remember by the time the match came my hair was beginning to fall out quite badly and as I was running with the ball it was literally falling off behind me. Everyone was so supportive and it really helped as the treatment continued and my girlfriend Chloe has helped me organise charity nights over the last few years.”

In 2017, David completed an epic five-day canoe challenge to raise funds and awareness for Stand Up To Cancer. He explained, “Having cancer has really changed my approach to life. I wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for research and fundraising.”