Justin never thought he would be celebrating losing a testicle – until his friends and family came up with an idea to help keep his spirits up.
A former advertising high-flyer who had a “ball voyage” bash for his left testicle, following a cancer diagnosis, told how his ordeal became the springboard he needed into a fabulous new life.
Justin Robertson, 26, had moved from his seaside hometown of Bournemouth, Dorset, to the posh south west London suburb of Wimbledon and was living life in the fast lane, when he noticed his left testicle felt enlarged – but found excuses not to see a doctor.
Busy burning the candle at both ends, Justin, who does not wish to name his girlfriend, was finally forced to confront his fears at a walk-in health clinic, where he alerted doctors, leading to tests which revealed a cancerous lump.
He said: “One minute I was walking into a routine health check-up and the next I was being told I was losing a testicle.”
Knowing his positive outlook and sunny sense of humour, Justin’s friends and family were keen to make sure his ordeal did not change him.
Determined to keep his spirits up, in November 2016, just days before his operation, they organised a special surprise send-off for his testicle.
Justin laughed: “I couldn’t believe it when I stepped through the door and all my friends and family were shouting, ‘ball-voyage,’ in honour of my soon-to-be-departed left testicle.”
Not only were there spherical snacks, like meatballs and stuffing, there was also a selection of meat with one veg, and a variety of nuts in varying shapes.
And the playlist included Jerry Lee Lewis’ famous Great Balls of Fire and Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball.
“It was such a great do and it made such a difference seeing everybody who’s important to me before the big op,” said Justin. “I was the butt of one too many ball-related jokes, but it was ace all the same.”
Just two days after the soiree, Justin was in theatre at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, south west London, having an orchidectomy procedure to remove a testicle through an incision made in the groin.
Fortunately, the surgery was a success, with Justin being discharged on the same day.
With follow-up treatment involving two bouts of chemotherapy and a course of radiotherapy, six months later, in May 2017 Justin was given the all clear.
Following the positive news, he underwent surgery to have a prosthetic testicle fitted, which he say brought him “closure.”
But, despite his good humour, Justin – who is speaking out as part of cancer charity Macmillan’s ‘Let’s Talk About What You Can’t Say’ campaign – says he believes a lot of what he went through could have been avoided if he had confronted his fears earlier .
“As fun as my ‘ball-voyage’ party was, you don’t want to have one thrown in your name – believe me,” he said.
“I wish I’d seen the doctor as soon as I noticed something was amiss, instead of waiting as long as I did.”
Recalling how he had first suspected something was wrong back in July 2016, he said he kept making excuses not to get it investigated.
“One morning I noticed that my left testicle felt slightly larger than before, it seemed irregular but there was no lump and I decided to see how it felt after a week,” he said.
But, caught up with his busy life in London, weeks turned to months, with Justin doing everything possible to put off visiting the doctor.
“Looking back, it’s clear that I could have made the time to see someone sooner if I’d wanted to – but I didn’t,” he explained.
“I was forever making excuses to myself. Either I had too much work on, or I didn’t want to eat into my social life, but deep down I know I was scared and embarrassed.”
Then, in November 2016, Justin finally plucked up the courage to see a doctor at a walk-in sexual health clinic about his enlarged left testicle and, after an initial examination, he was referred for an ultrasound scan later that day, after which doctors told him they suspected he had a cancerous tumour on his left testicle.
“I didn’t know how to react when they told me the news,” he said. “I knew it was a bit odd, being a bloke and getting an ultrasound, but I never could have imagined that it would be cancer.”
A week later, the cancer diagnosis was confirmed, with Justin being talked through the treatment.
He recalled telling his loved ones, saying: “Shane, my housemate, broke down in tears when I got home after the initial diagnosis.
“He knew lads who were just 16 when they were diagnosed with testicular cancer, which really grounded me, as at least I have broad shoulders to deal with the burden.”
And his sister Penny, 30, a civil servant, who he describes as “rational and logical” refused to let the diagnosis weigh the family down.
“Straight off the bat she was positive about the whole thing,” he explained. “She used to work for the department of health and insisted that this was something we were going to beat.”
Following successful treatment, Justin was given a brand new perspective on life, quitting his advertising job to put his talents to more positive use as senior marketing officer for the UK’s leading homeless charity, Crisis.
He said: “After coming through the other side of my cancer battle reasonably unscathed, I knew I wanted to do something meaningful and to give back.
“My work at Crisis is so fulfilling and I know what I do is making a difference to other people’s lives.”
It is for the same altruistic reasons that he is now telling his story, in support of the ‘Let’s Talk About What You Can’t Say’ campaign.
“I’m a well-educated guy, but as with so many other men my age, despite being fully aware that our bodies are susceptible to health issues, I shut out that voice of reason,” he confessed.
“That’s why I’m working with Macmillan on this campaign. Silence is a killer and too many men are staying silent.”
For more information on the ‘Let’s Talk About What You Can’t Say’ campaign, visit www.macmillan.org.uk/letstalk or call 0808 808 00 00
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Stung by paying billions of dollars for settlements and trials, chemical giant Bayer has been lobbying lawmakers in three states to pass bills providing it a legal shield from lawsuits that claim its popular weedkiller Roundup causes cancer.
Nearly identical bills introduced in Iowa, Missouri and Idaho this year — with wording supplied by Bayer — would protect pesticide companies from claims they failed to warn that their product causes cancer, if their labels otherwise complied with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations.
But legal experts warn the legislation could have broader consequences — extending to any product liability claim or, in Iowa’s case, providing immunity from lawsuits of any kind. Critics say it could spread nationwide.
"It’s just not good government to give a company immunity for things that they’re not telling their consumers,” said Matt Clement, a Jefferson City, Missouri, attorney who represents people suing Bayer. “If they’re successful in getting this passed in Missouri, I think they’ll be trying to do this all over the country.”
Bayer described the legislation as one strategy to address the “headwinds” it faces. About 167,000 legal claims against Bayer assert Roundup causes a cancer called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which Bayer disputes. The company has won some cases, settled many others but also has suffered several losses in which juries awarded huge initial judgments. It has paid about $10 billion while thousands of claims linger in court.
Though some studies associate Roundup's key ingredient with cancer, the EPA has regularly concluded it is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans when used as directed.
The costs of “defending a safe, approved product” are unsustainable, said Jess Christiansen, head of communications for Bayer's crop science division.
The legislation was introduced in targeted states pivotal to Bayer's Roundup operations and is at a different stage in each. It passed the Iowa Senate, is awaiting debate in the Missouri House and was defeated in Idaho, where this year's legislative session ended.
Farmers overwhelmingly rely on Roundup, which was introduced 50 years ago as a more efficient way to control weeds and reduce tilling and soil erosion. For crops like corn, soybeans and cotton, it’s designed to work with genetically modified seeds that resist Roundup’s deadly effect.
Missouri state Rep. Dane Diehl, a farmer who worked with Bayer to sponsor the legislation, cited concerns that costly lawsuits could force Bayer to pull Roundup from the U.S. market, leaving farmers to depend on alternative chemicals from China.
“This product, ultimately, is a tool that we need," said Diehl, a Republican.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, said in an email the legislation maintains the integrity of the regulatory process and, without it, “Iowa risks losing hundreds of jobs” in Muscatine, an eastern Iowa city where Roundup is mostly produced.
The Associated Press is seeking public records on Bayer’s communications with governor's offices in Iowa, Missouri and Idaho.
Bayer, like other companies, hires lobbyists in states to advocate for its interests. The company backs this legislation in the states where “we have a big, direct economic impact,” Christiansen said.
Roundup’s key ingredient, glyphosate, is derived from phosphate mined in Idaho. And St. Louis is the headquarters of its North America crop science division, acquired in its 2018 purchase of Monsanto. Because of that, many of the lawsuits are filed in Missouri.
The five lobbyists registered for Bayer in Iowa and three in Idaho is largely consistent with recent years, but the number working in Missouri this year ballooned from four to nine. Lobbyist expenditures exceeded $8,000 in Idaho this year; similar information was not available in Iowa or Missouri.
Led by Bayer, a coalition of agricultural organizations called Modern Ag Alliance also is spending tens of thousands of dollars on radio and print advertisements claiming that trial lawyers and litigation threaten the availability of glyphosate.
On its website, the group asserts that at risk are 500 jobs connected to glyphosate production in Iowa, and 800 jobs in Idaho.
Bayer stopped short of threatening closures. The Iowa facilities, including in Muscatine, “are very critical facilities to our business, so we'll remain at some sort of support level,” Christiansen said.
At issue in the lawsuits and legislation is how Bayer – and any other pesticide company — communicates with consumers about the safety of its products.
Companies are required to register products with the EPA, which evaluates — and then reevaluates every 15 years — a pesticide and its label. The EPA reiterated in 2020 that glyphosate used as directed posed no health risks to humans. But a federal appeals court panel in 2022 ruled that decision “was not supported by substantial evidence” and ordered the EPA to review further.
The debate over glyphosate escalated when a 2015 report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, said it's “probably carcinogenic to humans" based on “limited” evidence of cancer in people and “sufficient” evidence in study animals.
Based on that international report, California sought to add a cancer warning label to products containing glyphosate. But a federal appeals court ruled against California last November, concluding such a warning wasn't factual.
Christiansen emphasized that many regulatory agencies worldwide agree with the EPA and insisted Bayer has to stick to EPA labeling to ensure it isn't providing false or misleading information. She added that the company is transparent in the information it does provide.
Critics of the legislation aren't convinced, citing examples such as opioids and asbestos that had been deemed safe for use as directed — until they weren't.
There also are concerns that the legislation could stifle any product liability claim since most rely on the argument that a company failed to warn, said Andrew Mertens, executive director of the Iowa Association for Justice, an organization for trial lawyers.
Jonathan Cardi, a product liability and torts expert at Wake Forest University School of Law, also said a strict reading of the Iowa legislation extends beyond liability claims, and “the way it’s drafted makes it interpretable to mean nobody could bring any suit.”
In lobbying lawmakers and in speaking with the AP, Bayer representatives disputed that the legislation would cut off other legal actions. Several legal experts said the legislation is unlikely to affect the 18,000 lawsuits already pending in Missouri’s capital of Jefferson City, and wouldn’t prevent claims in states that don’t adopt similar legislation.
In Idaho, the Republican-led Senate narrowly defeated the bill amid concerns about relying on federal agencies' safety standards and limiting the ability of harmed individuals to sue.
John Gilbert, who farms in Iowa Falls, Iowa, with limited use of Roundup, called Republicans hypocritical for attempting to protect corporate interests after campaigning on standing up for Iowans.
The bill “invites a lot of reckless disregard," said Gilbert, who is on the board for the Iowa Farmers Union. “No amount of perfume’s gonna make it anything but a skunk."
Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri.
FILE - Soybeans are seen in a field on a farm, Friday, Sept. 2, 2016, in Iowa. The maker of a popular weedkiller is turning to lawmakers in key states to try to squelch legal claims that it failed to warn about cancer risks. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
FILE - The Bayer AG corporate logo is displayed on a building of the German drug and chemicals company in Berlin, Monday, May 23, 2016. Bayer, the maker of a popular weedkiller, is turning to lawmakers in key states to try to squelch legal claims that it failed to warn about cancer risks. Bayer disputes such claims but already has paid about $10 billion to resolve them. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
FILE - Phosphate ore is dug up and transported from Monsanto Company's South Rasmussen Mine site near Soda Springs, Idaho, July 16, 2009. Bayer acquired Monsanto in 2018. Bayer, the maker of a popular weedkiller, is turning to lawmakers in key states to try to squelch legal claims that it failed to warn about cancer risks. The company disputes such claims. A key ingredient of the weedkiller, glyphosate, is derived from phosphate mined in Idaho. (Bill Schaefer/The Idaho State Journal via AP, File)
FILE - Containers of Roundup are displayed on a store shelf in San Francisco, Feb. 24, 2019. Thousands of legal claims against drug and chemicals company Bayer assert Roundup causes a cancer called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which Bayer disputes. (AP Photo/Haven Daley, File)
FILE - A soybean field is sprayed in Iowa, July 11, 2013. The maker of a popular weedkiller is turning to lawmakers in key states to try to squelch legal claims that it failed to warn about cancer risks. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
