A YOUNG man who has been battling cancer is close to beating it - and is urging people who suspect they have a tumour to report it immediately.

Lee Fairclough, aged 24, has been given the preliminary all-clear after he found a lump in his testicle 18 months ago.

He kept quiet for four months when his testicle became swollen and painful until he confided in his mum, Susan.

A two week course of anti-biotics confirmed it was not an infection and tests revealed Lee had cancer.

Lee had an operation to remove his testicle at the Royal Bolton Hospital and monthly blood tests were done for about a year.

Then one test in March showed an abnormal reading - the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes and Lee had to start chemotherapy.

Lee, of Trentham Avenue, Farnworth, had treatment three days a week at the Young Oncology Unit at Christie Hospital for 20 weeks.

He said: "At the time, the treatment really drags. You're attached to this drip and can't really go anywhere. I've never read so much in my life!

"Now, when I look back on everything that has happened, it has gone by very quickly."

Lee's chemotherapy finished at the end of July and his hair started growing back straight away.

But it was not the same. His straight black hair has been replaced with a lighter curly version.

He said: "I like my new hair and it's been a hit with the girls! As soon as my facial hair started to grow back, I knew I was going to be all right. I've saved a fortune on razors though."

The all clear has given Lee a new lease of life. He is out almost every night and is looking forward to his best friend's stag week in Magaluf in May.

He has gone back to work at Asda, Farnworth, and still wants to join the army.

Mum Susan said: "There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. The whole ordeal has been a nightmare and there was a stage where I thought I might lose him because he had left it that long. I just want to urge other lads to tell someone if they find a lump because cancer travels so quickly. It is vital that it is caught as soon as possible."

Victims do not get the full all-clear until five years.