Shaun Ryder opens up on testicular cancer scare

9 June 2020, 14:09 | Updated: 9 June 2020, 14:22

Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays performs at Penn Fest 2019. Picture: Jim Dyson/Getty Images

The Happy Mondays legend has talked about his non-malignant growth and how it made him realise he's "not invincible".

Shaun Ryder has opened up about a recent cancer scare after discovering a lump on his testicle.

The Happy Mondays legend revealed that he's been struggling with a painful lump, and while he was relieved to discover it was not cancerous, it made him realise his own mortality.

Speaking to The Sun, the Step On singer revealed: "This non-malignant growth in my testicle is pressing on a nerve.

"It’s like having really bad toothache in your balls.

"I can have the growth chucked out but I should’ve gone before lockdown started."

Speaking about the impact of the scare, the Madchester legend mused: "I was one of those dudes who never thought I could die, no matter what.

"I now think I’m not invincible.

"It doesn’t worry me about dying, it’s just that because I’ve got young kids, who are now 11 and 12, and I don’t want to go because of them.

"The other ones have grown up but these two are still young, so it’s like ‘F****** hell, I can’t go anywhere because of them.’ That’s what I panic about."

Shaun Ryder talks lockdown on The Chris Moyles Show

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The Black Grape frontman - who is currently appearing in Celebrity Googlebox on Friday nights - has become active and healthy in recent years, but has been marred by a string of ailments including thyroid issues, alopecia and having to undergo hip surgery.

Speaking to The Chris Moyles Show last year, he revealed: What they don't know is what is the deal, because I've got the thyroid. I've got an under-active thyroid. I don't produce testosterone."

He added: "And when [the hair] first went, it's like - I've got no eyelashes, no eyebrows, no pubic hair, no leg hair, no armpit hair, everything gone.

"And at first they thought it's going to be the testosterone or it's going to be the thyroid. Well it isn't, because in the thyroid it comes out in clumps, right. Now mine's an alopecia thing and it's just gone. And another thing is it's not stress related."

The star, who has a largely vegan diet, also revealed how he felt after he underwent hip surgery, joking: "I woke up just feeling fantastic. Such a buzz! I wanna go for more operations."

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