A TRAINEE firefighter has bravely revealed the difficult journey he faced as he embarked on the most difficult challenge of his life to beat cancer.

Jack Cooper was diagnosed with testicular cancer on his girlfriend's birthday on July 16 – just days after discovering a lump.

The 25-year-old from Grappenhall has been courageously vlogging his battle to beat cancer online in the hope that it will help inspire others in the future.

Jack, who is the younger brother of rugby league player Mike Cooper, has called on others not to bury their heads in the sand when it comes to taking care of your health.

He said: "As soon as you find something you should go to your doctor. That's the key thing.

"Don't be embarrassed by it. It's your health at the end of the day.

"A lot of blokes put it off going to the doctors but it takes five minutes and it could save your life."

Two weeks after Jack was given the devastating diagnosis, he was booked in for surgery before undergoing a one-month course of chemotherapy.

Jack, who was accepted onto the fire service one month prior to the diagnosis, said: "There were no other symptoms and it was a big shock.

"I've not stopped training since I finished playing rugby and I was fit and healthy.

"Chemo was tough. I've stopped now but that was the hardest bit of it all. It just wipes you out.

"I still have to have blood tests - one every three months for the next five years and CT scans on my lungs but so far so good.

"I'm still waiting for results but at the moment it's looking good."

His brother Mike described Jack's strength of character as inspiring and praised him for speaking out about his health battle.

He said: "It was never going to be easy because at the time I was on the other side of the world.

"He is a really strong person and has shown great resilience.

"As a family we have stuck together and thankfully it looks like we are coming out the end stronger than ever."

Jack and Mike have joined forces to show their support for Oddballs - a charity which aims to raise awareness of testicular cancer by selling unusual designs for boxers.

Thirty males taking part in the LiveWire's Fit to Tackle campaign will don the underwear in support of the charity's work.