MAL Nash had been suffering back pain for six months when he went to the doctor after it became too painful to ignore.
At first, the 42-year-old carpenter from Devon was sent home with painkillers, but he continued to “seize up” before he completely lost the ability to walk.
“It was horrendous, I couldn’t even describe it,” his twin brother, Kevin, also 42, recalled.
“It was awful to see him like that, you always see it happen to other people and never expect it to happen to you,” the window cleaner, also from Devon, added.
After two more trips to A&E an MRI scan diagnosed Mal with a form of testicular cancer called metastic seminoma.
The cancer had spread, making its way into his spine between the T6 and T7 causing his week of slow paralysis.
By the time of the diagnosis, his entire body from the chest down was completely paralysed – and he has now been told it is likely “lifelong”.
It was April 2025 when Mal, an aspiring business owner, started getting back pain which he put down to years of factory work.
He finally went to the doctor in September but was sent home with painkillers.
“He took that as gospel, as you would, it’s the doctors,” Kevin said.
“Then he started to seize up, and he couldn’t get off the sofa or up the stairs, so we called 111.”
After hours in A&E, Mal was sent home with only a referral to a physio therapist, despite his increasing lack of ability to walk.
Kevin said: “They didn’t even want to scan where the pain was and just sent him away.
“We got back home and decided to go back to the emergency rooms that day. It just kept getting worse, he couldn’t even walk when we got home.”
The doctors surveyed him once again, this time finding Mal had a compression in his spinal cord.
The MRI led to his cancer diagnosis in September 2025 – and he was told it had caused his paralysis.
Kevin said: “He was really excited about his work.
“He used to work factory jobs and only recently set up his own carpenter business. He just worked through his back pain.”
Mal was rushed into an emergency operation on his spine, in the hopes to regain back motor function below his chest. The surgery was unsuccessful.
“He came out and we were told it didn’t work,” Kevin explained.
“Now he has just been put on rounds of chemo. He won’t be able to move now but hopefully the cancer will go.
“He used to love BMX sports and was cracking on with his new business, it’s just awful.
He added: “You never expect it to happen to you.”
Kevin has since launched a GoFundMe in the hope he can raise enough funds to make their shared house more accessible for Mal.
At the time of writing, it had raised £4,400 of the £5,000 goal.
“We are just trying to take it day by day,” Kevin explained.
Around 2,400 new testicular cancer cases are diagnosed to men in the UK every year.
There are around 65 deaths, according to Cancer Research UK.
As with all types of cancer, the earlier it’s caught, the better.
There is no national screening program for testicular cancer in the country, and Kevin warns that more people should be checking themselves regularly.
He said: “It is so important to check these things. If you do you can catch the early signs and not be in the place as my brother. Check yourself regularly, it is so important.”
The 4 early warning signs of testicular cancer
THE most common symptom of testicular cancer is a lump or swelling in your testicle.
But the full list of early red flags includes:
- A lump or swelling in part of one testicle (it can be as small as a pea but may be much larger)
- A testicle that gets bigger
- A heavy scrotum (it may also feel firmer or harder)
- Discomfort or a sharp pain in your testicle or scrotum
If the cancer has spread, you may also experience back pain or a dull ache in your lower stomach.
Some people have a cough, difficulty breathing, problems swallowing, a swelling in the chest, and weight loss.
Treatment depends on several factors, including your cancer stage and grade.
Most people have surgery to remove their testicle as their first treatment.
After that, some need further chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
Nine in 10 patients survive 10 or more years after diagnosis.
Testicular cancer mostly affects men aged 15 to 49, though it can occur at any time.
It’s not always clear what causes the disease, but you might be more likely to get it if:
- You have or had undescended testicles (when one or both testicles do not drop down into the usual place in the scrotum)
- Your brother or dad has had testicular cancer
- You’ve had the disease before
- You have or had a condition called hypospadias where the hole that pee and sperm comes out of (urethra) is not at the tip of your penis
- You have HIV or AIDS
- You are from a white British background
Scientists have also found a potential link between testicular cancer and neurodevelopmental disorders like autism and ADHD.
