Ex-Mayo star Andy Moran is among those who have praised the bravery of former Derry captain Mark Lynch for speaking candidly about his battle with cancer.
Lynch, who retired from inter-county duty at the end of the 2018 season, was speaking on the BBC’s GAA Social podcast with Thomas Niblock and Oisin McConville.
In March 2020, he attended the cancer unit of Derry’s Altnagelvin hospital and received the news he feared.
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After finding a lump on his right testicle, Lynch booked an appointment to have an ultrasound, but he’d already convinced himself he’d cancer by the time the doctor broke the news.
"He (the doctor) was checking the left testicle, he was talking Covid, how he was planning to go on holidays but the holidays had been cancelled," said Lynch.
"Then he moved to the next one, and he stopped talking. The second he stopped talking I knew.
"He turned the screen round and says 'you've tumour there, I'm 99 per cent sure that's cancer'."
While the news came as a massive shock, fortunately for Lynch and his family, the cancer was caught at a very early stage.
Less than two weeks after being diagnosed, the Banagher dual star was back in hospital to have the tumour removed.
A few months later, in order to significantly reduce the chances of the cancer returning, he also underwent one cycle of chemotherapy.
"The bit between me finding out and the tumour being taken out in the operation was the toughest,” reflected Lynch.
'It's still in me, is it currently spreading throughout the body?'
"The big thing for me at that stage, a day later I found out before he took me to the operation table he said the scan was clear."
On Twitter, plenty of people praised Lynch for his interview, including former Mayo star Andy Moran, who said: “Mark Lynch one of the very best on and off the field."
Antrim goalkeeper Chris Kerr, who appeared on the GAA Social podcast himself, added: "Super brave to share this and, no doubt, the awareness that this will raise on the back of this will be ten fold! Class act on and off the pitch."
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