‘Having testicular cancer saved my life’: Hugo’s devastating double cancer diagnosis

Hugo Toovey was diagnosed with testicular cancer when he was just 21. But that shattering blow made a big difference when he received another dose of bad news.

It was the moment Hugo Toovey had been imagining for years. A doctor carefully explained that he was finally cured after a five-year gruelling battle with testicular cancer that begun when he was only 21 years old.

It came after endless doctor appointments, tough chemotherapy sessions and the fear that he might not lead the life he had always dreamt of.

“I was on top of the world, fit, healthy, doing well at life,” he said.

But in a devastating twist of fate, just two months later he suffered another “extremely deflating” blow.

“(I was) in the doctors room being told I’ve got bowel cancer,” he said.

Hugo, who had gone to the doctors after experiencing irregular bowel movements, remembers asking the doctor if “he was sure”.

“It wasn’t until I left the doctor’s room where I just burst into tears,” he said.

At the time, Hugo was 26 years old walking out into the carpark of his doctor’s office dressed in his army uniform crying.

“That was enough – enough is enough,” the army captain said he remembered thinking.

“I kind of felt like I put on that front for so long and here I was just about embark on entirely new challenges with so many unknowns.”

Captain Hugo Toovey with his dogs Ernie (brown labradoodle) and Iggy (Husky). Picture: Adam Yip

During that heartbreaking appointment Hugo’s doctor said to him “in a strange way testicular cancer saved your life”.

Through his journey with his first cancer Adelaide-born Hugo learnt that disregarding his symptoms meant his cancer had time to spread.

In 2013 when Hugo was only 21 years old he noticed a “very obvious” pea-sized lump on his right testicle.

“I put that off for over six months – I was a young, naive, 21-year-old bloke,” he said.

When he finally decided to speak to a doctor the news was shocking – stage three testicular cancer and it had spread to his abdomen and lungs.

“I still, even after I got told that, had the mindset of, I’m young, I’m fit, I’m healthy, I’m bulletproof, I’ll be fine,” he said.

For the next year Hugo was subjected to months of painful chemotherapy and invasive surgeries all while his friends were out having fun or getting deployed overseas.

“I’ve missed out on a lot,” he said.

Hugo Toovey attributes the early detection of his bowel cancer to having gone through testicular cancer in his early 20s.

Hugo Toovey and now-wife Amber at the Jodie Lee Foundation Ten-Year Anniversary Gala at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Picture: Tom Roschi

In 2018, despite being given news he was cured of cancer, when Hugo began noticing symptoms he booked an appointment with a doctor straight away.

“Learning the significance of putting those symptoms off and the cancer spreading, it meant I was practical with my health and it meant I was diagnosed with bowel cancer early,” he said.

“The difference with cancer spreading beyond the bowel walls is significant – it’s essentially the difference between life or death.”

Hugo said his symptoms would not have been “enough” to go see a doctor if he hadn’t gone through testicular cancer five years prior.

Now Hugo, who is a Jodi Lee Foundation ambassador, is cancer-free but the trauma his body has gone through has meant his quality of life has decreased substantially.

Diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, Hugo may need to have more of his bowel removed and potentially be fit with a permanent stoma bag.

“It does get hard to try and stay motivated and optimistic but I keep cracking on,” he said.