English cricketer all set to return after surgery for testicular cancer

Fell is back in training

Tom Fell has been one the of most exciting prospects in the English county circuit for over a year and is now all set to return and resume his cricketing career after undergoing surgery for testicular cancer in October this year, reports ESPNcricinfo.

The Worcestershire’s top scorer last season, had amassed 1,084 runs last season at an impressive average of 41.69. After the end of the season, he approached his club doctor and was diagnosed shortly afterwards.

In October, Fell was operated upon and was later told that the tumour had not spread to other parts of the body. After consulting with his family and doctors, he has decided to not opt for chemotherapy and instead he has chosen to undergo regular tests to keep a check on the growth of the tumour.

Fell stated that there was a 65% chance that he is in the clear zone and cancer will not come back and has thus chosen to get on with his cricket and keep a regular tab on the status of his condition.

In December, Fell will have to go through one final test after which he can leave for Australia, where he will play grade-level cricket in Perth. He is in constant touch with oncologists in Perth who will take care of his treatment while he plays in the country.

The top-order batsman admitted to his initial reluctance to get himself checked. He said, "Because I felt no different, that is why I didn't bother to get it checked sooner than I did. The thing I want to get out there to people is, even if they don't really have any concerns, it is worth getting it checked.

“It is such an easy thing to do, it takes 10 minutes with the doctor. I think partly the reason people don't get it checked is because it is quite a sensitive area and people may feel embarrassed and don't want to go through it.”

The 22-year-old batsman revealed that initially he was worried and that other people would always fear the worst when they were told about the cancer. But given the high success rate of dealing with testicular cancer, he was confident about his recovery and return to the game.

"I knew it wasn't going to be life-threatening unless it had spread but the signs initially were positive that it hadn't spread. Naturally it came as a bit of a shock. But I knew straight away that testicular cancer is something that is quite common in people my age and it is very curable,” Fell said.

He has also stated that he will now be involved in promotion and awareness programs about the disease and encourage people to get themselves checked regularly. He expressed his immense relief at being able to go back to cricket and resume his life after a period of physical and emotional turmoil.

“That was the best news about it all, I can go away, and I’m hoping to fly out the beginning of December and be there until the end of February. A month ago, I didn’t know what was going to happen. To know I’m able to get on with my life again and get out to Australia as originally planned is a really good feeling,” he said.