Not only does he credit his wife Ciara as being “absolutely super” in supporting him through treatment, but she was also able to step into his shoes from her deputy principal position when his diagnosis was revealed.

For 48-year-old Michael, it all started with an unusual feeling in his stomach one evening:

“I was lying in bed and put my hand on my stomach, and felt a firmness there. After a couple of days I could feel it pulsating which was unnerving, and later on I was sitting at my desk in the school and I just thought I didn’t feel right so I rang the local GP and arranged an appointment; I was in within 20 minutes,” remembers Kildare man Michael.

The necessary follow-up tests caused much anxiety for Michael, with concerns mooted over everything from an aneurysm to liver or pancreatic cancer until the cause was confirmed.

“The oncologist told me it was testicular cancer, and that when they first saw the scan they weren’t sure what it was but it turned out being the best scenario of all the possibilities.

“My urologist told me that at the time he did his training in America testicular cancer was the second-biggest killer of young men, but since then thanks to new treatments testicular cancer has become very treatable and curable, and that ‘we’ll sort this’ which was very reassuring to hear.

“It’s a funny thing to say, but I feel I was lucky,” remarks Michael.

Michael is now in remission, and all going well he is hoping to be back to school after Christmas. He is thankful for the support he has received from a number of sources, including counselling through ARC and information from the Irish Cancer Society.

He is also very grateful for the care he received from the "amazing" nurses and doctors in the Blackrock Clinic.

“I had myself dead and buried from googling, but then I found the Cancer.ie website and it’s great. As soon as I was diagnosed my medical team gave me literature from the Irish Cancer Society on testicular cancer, and I found it to be very factual.”