Legendary All Blacks front-row Owen Franks has revealed that he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and underwent surgery to remove the tumour.<\/p>\n
Franks, who is currently working as an assistant coach for Japan\u2019s national team, is a two-time Rugby World Cup champion, who was a regular in New Zealand\u2019s Test team between 2009 and 2019.<\/p>\n
He also enjoyed two stints at club level with the Crusaders between 2009 and 2024, making more than 150 appearances for the Christchurch-based outfit and won several Super Rugby Pacific titles with that club.<\/p>\n
In 2019, Franks<\/a> moved to England to take up a contract with Northampton Saints but he returned to New Zealand<\/a> to join the Hurricanes in 2022 and also had a brief stint as a medical joker at Top 14 heavyweights Toulouse during the 2023 Rugby World Cup before returning to the Crusaders where he finished his playing career in 2024.<\/p>\n Eddie Jones then lured the 108-Test ex-All Blacks star to assist the Brave Blossoms<\/a> with their set-piece after the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific campaign and it was during Franks\u2019 early days in Japan that he discovered a lump in one of his testicles, although he initially ignored the ailment before seeing a doctor just over a year ago.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a bit of a whirlwind. I can\u2019t remember (the exact date). It\u2019s been on a year,\u201d he told the What a Lad<\/a> podcast.<\/p>\n \u2018I had symptoms of a lump\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t long after I got the role (with Japan). I was in Japan for six to eight weeks during that time. I had symptoms of a lump, it\u2019s testicular cancer.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I went down there and did the typical thing of ignoring it. I was lifting good weights in the gym, feeling really strong. So I thought there\u2019s nothing else to worry about.<\/p>\n \u201cLife\u2019s pretty good but there was that little voice in the back of my head that\u2019s saying, \u2018F*ck, just go get a check\u2019, but I kept bearing it.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the time that I felt it to when I saw the doctor (it was) two and a half months. And it was getting sizeable, but then I was like, \u2018Okay, you can\u2019t ignore this\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cI finally got the courage to tell my wife, because I knew that she would book me a doctor, and if she didn\u2019t then f*cking hell.<\/p>\n \u201cSo luckily she did. I went to the doctor and he just said, \u2018No, most guys come in and it\u2019s, it\u2019s not a big deal, you know, don\u2019t worry type of thing\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then he inspected and he\u2019s like, \u2018Yeah, we\u2019ll get you screened pretty quick\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the process from then to getting it screened, getting it removed, I had a testicle removed.<\/p>\n Scott Robertson misses out on another player as former All Blacks hopeful on his way to French heavyweights<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, it came back again, the tumour two to three months later, but that whole process was an unbelievable experience here in Christchurch and the people at St. George Cancer Care, unbelievable nurses in there.<\/p>\n \u2018Grateful that I got through it\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cSo yeah, being on the other side of it now hopefully, (I\u2019m) grateful that I got through it and had the right people looking after me.\u201d<\/p>\n Franks admitted that initially it was difficult to accept that something wasn\u2019t right with his body.<\/p>\n \u201cYou just lie to yourself, I\u2019ve thought about it. I think it\u2019s, you just don\u2019t want to face the truth, but the crazy thing is, from my own experience, once the truth hit me it\u2019s scary for a bit,\u201d said the 38-year-old.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, then your body seems to adapt and you getting to a different mode of trying to beat it and then doing everything you can, (it\u2019s) probably similar when you get an injury or something.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t encourage anyone out there (to ignore the signs). If your body\u2019s giving you signs, regardless of what it is, just listen, do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n He then had to undergo chemotherapy treatment \u2013 a process which was a real eye opener for Franks.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was, to put it in perspective, like I feel lucky to be honest, when I was in there getting chemotherapy, there were people there who were proper battling,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then you think about kids and that\u2019s a whole nother level. You\u2019ve got your own kids. You don\u2019t even want it to cross your mind.<\/p>\n \u201cMy treatment was three months, but there are people in there that were doing six-month courses. It was a short, hard round. When I met with the oncologist beforehand, he said, \u2018It\u2019ll be pretty tough\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd, I thought, \u2018Yeah, but you know, I\u2019m used to pain\u2019. But then once I got through it, it was a whole nother level, but, again, I was grateful to get through it.<\/p>\n \u201cI was able to finish the treatment and it was quite common with the protocol I had, the VIP chemotherapy for people to be sent to hospital if your body can\u2019t handle it and sickness and all the other things that go with it.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, I managed to get through it with the support of my wife and family. But there was a whole new perspective on things. Going through that and (realising) I\u2019m not as tough as I thought I was, but also more capable than I thought I was getting through. Cause it was something I hadn\u2019t experienced before.\u201d<\/p>\n Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n