A FAMILY, a home, a steady job and good health are four things that many people may take for granted, but for 34-year- old Tomas Palfi, everything he has is a constant reminder of just how lucky he is to be here today.

Tomas, an IT development manager, lives in Drury, Buckley, with his wife Denice, 34 and their 17- month-old daughter, Elena.

Five years ago, his life was torn apart when when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, aged just 29.

Tomas said: "I first noticed that something was wrong when I was in the shower and felt a small lump. I expected it to be nothing but my wife encouraged me to go to see the doctor and made an appointment for me.

"I was told that it was quite a common problem and was likely to be a cyst and nothing to worry about, but I was referred to a radiographer to carry out further checks.

"After seeing the radiographer, I was told that the lump was cancerous and was referred to the Wrexham Maelor Hospital straight away for an operation to remove it.

"I had no idea what I was supposed to think or how I was expected to cope with the news. It was a total shock – I was a young man, I had never smoked and didn't drink and I was perfectly healthy. I had never suffered with any serious illnesses before.

"I began to think of my life in weeks rather than years. It was a huge shock and the emotional strain was enormous – a lot of strange thoughts were going through my head."

After undergoing an operation to remove the tumour, Tomas was transferred to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Bodewyddan, to begin chemotherapy treatment.

He added: "The chemotherapy doctors and nurses at Glan Clwyd were an absolutely fantastic team of people. They offered very good support – they told me everything I needed or wanted to know about my illness and the treatment.

"They definitely do their best for the patient and when you are diagnosed with such a serious illness you have to put all your faith and trust completely in the professionals and go along with what they think is best for you.

"It is a physically and emotionally draining experience and the support I was offered at Glan Clwyd helped me to get through it."

Tomas is now planning a trek to the base camp of Mount Everest from Kathmandu, after reading an article published in the Leader about Jose Casas, of Leeswood, who spent a month in the Himalayas to raise money for charity.

Tomas said: "I have spoken with Jose about his experiences in Nepal and he is a fascinating man. I have a lot of respect for him."

Tomas is intending to conquer Kalapattar, one of the smaller peaks of Mount Everest on his trek, although he is not planning to undertake the challenge until 2009.

He has started his preparations already and is hoping his family, friends and collegues will show their support. He is hoping to raise as much money as possible and will donate every penny to the testicular cancer treatment unit at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd.

Tomas is also confident that his trek will raise awareness of the condition and will encourage more men to dismiss their embarrassment and seek help if they think that anything is wrong.

He said: "Breast cancer has a huge scale of awareness, but testicular cancer and prostate cancer do not have the same recognition.

"I don't want to do this trek for me – I want to do it for all the men who are fighting cancer at the moment and are receiving treatment. I want to do it to encourage young men to seek help straight away if they notice anything unusual at all – the longer you leave it, the harder it is to treat.

"I have been clear for five years now since my chemotherapy, but I still go for regular checks every year.

"I want to do everything I can now to raise awareness and to make sure that young men are not shy about tackling their problems.

"It is five years since I finished chemotherapy and my life is back to normal – I am back at work and I have a daughter. I want to show men who are suffering at the moment that there is life afterwards. Just look at me now."