An Illustrator of Footballers Shares His Testicular Cancer Story

James Hible was 25 when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Twice, the same physician misdiagnosed his condition. After six months with a second lump plus a growing first lump on his testicle, James finally saw his regular doctor who sent him for a scan and immediately diagnosed testicular cancer. James had an orchiectomy and one round of chemotherapy to treat his Stage 1 testicular cancer and five years of surveillance that ended in 2020. 

Before, during, and now, after testicular cancer, James focused on his art. He was around seven years old when his family and teachers recognized his artistic talent. He liked to draw and continued with that passion into adulthood. 

However, James also discovered football at the same young age and enjoyed watching games then and now. He has collected more than 200 football shirts.

Listen to James Hible in this episode of Don't Give Up on Testicular Cancer from the Max Mallory Foundation to hear an enlightening discussion about this young man's journey with testicular cancer.

You can find out more about and see James Hible's illustrations on 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hiblejames/

Website - https://www.jameshible.com/

Transcript

Don’t Give Up on Testicular Cancer

An Illustrator of Footballers Shares His Testicular Cancer Story

Season 5 – Episode 2

[00:00:00] Introduction: Welcome to Don't Give Up on Testicular Cancer, a podcast where testicular cancer survivors, caregivers, and others who have navigated the cancer journey share their stories. The podcast comes to you from the Max Mallory Foundation, a nonprofit, family foundation focused on educating about testicular cancer in honor and in memory of Max Mallory, who died in 2016 at the young age of 22 from testicular cancer.

[00:00:34] Introduction: Had he survived, Max wanted to help young adults with cancer. This podcast helps meet that goal. Here now is your host, Joyce Lofstrom, Max's mom, and a young adult cancer survivor. 

[00:00:59] Joyce Lofstrom: Hi, this is Joyce. The first thing I want you to know about my guest today, James Hible is his talent for illustrating sports icons, primarily football figures from the UK. He is also a survivor of testicular cancer, which brought him here today for the podcast to share his journey, starting with his diagnosis in 2015.

[00:01:21] Joyce Lofstrom: He's been passionate about art since childhood, and he studied illustration as part of his art and design degree. And as we'll learn, James has combined his love for football and art into a fulfilling career. So, James, I'm so glad you could be here with me today. Thanks. 

[00:01:39] James Hible: Thank you for having me. 

[00:01:40] Joyce Lofstrom: So, tell us a little bit about your testicular cancer journey. Anything you want to share. It's been 10 years now, so. 

[00:01:47] James Hible: Yeah, I could start from the beginning if you like. 

[00:01:49] Joyce Lofstrom: Sure. 

[00:01:50] James Hible: So, going back to it, January 2015 was when I first noticed a lump on my right testicle when I was in the shower.

[00:02:00] James Hible: And I was a bit wondering what it was, this lump a bit nervous. We have our surgery, so where my own doctors and GPs are. Our health system at the minute is not, well, good, for a few years. You can't really access your own doctors straight away.

[00:02:16] James Hible: So, I was sent to a standing doctor, which is called the locum, and he checked it over. He thought nothing of it, nothing to be a concerned about. So I went back to my daily life. We fast forward to June, and I noticed that the second lump had come up and slightly bit big. The first lump was a bit bigger, so I went back to the doctor again.

[00:02:41] James Hible: This, again, I was sent to the same standing doctor the first time around, who missed it, and again, he thought nothing again, nothing to be concerned of, and then so, went away again. And then, at about the end of July, August, it just, it didn't go away. It got slightly bit bigger, both [00:03:00] lumps, and I thought, right, I'm going to have to do something about this.

[00:03:02] James Hible: So I actually tried again, and I finally got through to my own doctor, my actual GP. He looked it over, and straight away, he sent me for a scan at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in the West Midlands of England. So, I had a scan in the middle of August 2015. Then, the results came back. I didn't find out the results until the first week of September.

[00:03:30] James Hible: And the doctors there, tell me, they found a tumor, but they couldn't tell if it was cancer yet until they did the operation on my lower testicle. That was scary, and I was confused that I was just 25 years old just to get this diagnosis that I had a tumor and no idea if it was, but they caught it early. 

So that was some good news. And then I had a [00:04:00] scan, I think it was a CT scan. It was where I had to drink this dye into my system. I'm not a fan of needles as is, and then so, but I knew they had to. But the problem was because my veins were so thin, it took them four attempts to find a vein.

[00:04:18] James Hible: But they did finally get it in the end. And then, a week after the scan, I actually had my orchiectomy to remove my right testicle, where I had the lumps, and it was successful. Afterwards, I felt a bit of pain and discomfort down there. And then in October, the following month, about mid-October 2015, they told me the other results, and they confirmed it was cancer in that, but it was stage one.

[00:04:50] James Hible: So they did catch it early and it hadn't spread to my lymph nodes or anywhere else in my body, which was good. Then a few weeks after that, in, I'd say November time about, [00:05:00] I was then referred to Cheltenham General Hospital, which had an oncology center and specialized in cancer treatment. And the doctors there gave me a choice of whether to have chemotherapy or just, be right without it.

[00:05:19] James Hible: And after my experiences of the doctor or doctor who missed it in the first place,  I just wanted to get chemotherapy done, make sure it was gone for good. Then. Towards the end of that month and then early December of that year, I had one round of chemotherapy.

[00:05:40] James Hible: It wasn't straightforward because, in the days before, they had to put a cannula in my hands, take blood tests, and I had just prepare myself. When I got to the day of the chemotherapy, they couldn't put a cannula in the back of my hand because it was so bruised from all the times (they had tried to find a vein).

[00:05:56] Joyce Lofstrom: Oh, geez. 

[00:05:56] James Hible: That too. So what they had to do, it wasn't ideal, but [00:06:00] they had to put the injection in the side of my wrist, which was painful. And because I have thin veins, and it was discomforting. The only way to take the pain away, you had to put this hot water bottle over my wrist whilst having my chemotherapy in order to take the pain away and relax me while I was having it.

[00:06:18] Joyce Lofstrom: Wow. 

[00:06:18] James Hible: Yeah. Then, just for a week after that, I had these kind of, is it charcoal tablets? I had no immune system for about a week or so. I also had to take these charcoal like tablets every morning, which wasn't, it wasn't pleasant. I wasn't really feeling that good anyway.

[00:06:34] James Hible: But, and then after that treatment, I had regular checkups every now and then to make sure it hadn't come back, which didn't.  I had checkups every few months until my last checkup, which was in June, 2020. 

[00:06:52] Joyce Lofstrom: Wow. 

[00:06:53] James Hible: Yeah. 

[00:06:54] Joyce Lofstrom: So they missed it twice, It sounds like. 

[00:06:57] James Hible: Yeah, this was the same standing doctor.

[00:06:59] James Hible: He [00:07:00] missed it twice. 

[00:07:01] Joyce Lofstrom: Oh, James, gosh. 

[00:07:03] James Hible: Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:07:03] Joyce Lofstrom: That's just sad. It's not good that you had to go through all that and go back. So during this, it sounds like about a year, and then all the follow-up for five years, what was your biggest challenge? 

[00:07:16] James Hible: It was trying to stay calm because I'm a bit anxious, fearful of what could be and scared and confused about what these unknown things in my body could be. So it was just trying to stay calm and have support from my family and friends. That was just to reassure me that it's nothing too, it'll be all right, and it'll be all right in the end, and everything will be okay.

[00:07:41] Joyce Lofstrom: And so when you were doing this, as an artist and an illustrator, how did it affect what you were doing? Could you still work a little?

[00:07:52] James Hible: I could still work, obviously I couldn't after my surgery, I couldn't go back to what, obviously I was given time off about a week.

[00:08:00] James Hible: But when I had to go back to work, I couldn't lift anything heavier than two kilograms for a certain amount of weeks, and I was still in some pain. So, I had to take paracetamol to help me ease the pain. 

[00:08:12] Joyce Lofstrom: So, let's shift over to art and illustrating, which is, I know, what you do for your business, your love of football. 

[00:08:20] Joyce Lofstrom: In America, we call it soccer, but football's appropriate here. And yeah, talk about what you do, how you got into it, and your love of art. 

[00:08:33] James Hible: My love of arts started at first school when I, about seven or eight years old when they became aware, I was actually really good at art. My love of football started around that time as well.

[00:08:45] James Hible: I started football stuff in my spare time, which I loved. So, I usually started drawing club badges or top football shirts in my youth. And then, over the years, when my art skills increased, I did more and more. However, for most of my life, I did more hand-drawn work and paints. I didn't go digital until early 2020, when I started using apps like Sketchbook and Adobe more often.

[00:09:17] James Hible: And the stuff I produce now is more on the Procreate app on my iPad, and that's how I get more work done. 

[00:09:27] Joyce Lofstrom: So, I'm not as familiar with some of those. So you're basically saying you do it on the computer. Well, I was impressed because you and I talked before we started to record earlier, but Patrick Mahomes is one of your subjects.

[00:09:41] Joyce Lofstrom: Yeah, the quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs in America. That's my team since I'm from Kansas City. It was a great illustration too, 

James Hible: Oh, thank you. 

Joyce Lofstrom: It’s cool that you can do all that. Do you want to talk about the t-shirts that, well, the soccer shirts, right? You have what?  

[00:09:58] James Hible: [00:10:00] Yeah, I have over 200 football shirts in my collection over the years. 

[00:10:05] Joyce Lofstrom: Wow. 

[00:10:06] James Hible: Yeah. 

[00:10:06] Joyce Lofstrom: Do you wear any of them, or are they just kind of like…

[00:10:10] James Hible: I like wearing any football shirts. I tend to wear them straight away. I still wear them when I go to the gym or go out or at home, I just tend to wear football shirts. 

[00:10:21] Joyce Lofstrom: I have, well, I have Mahomes, not an official NFL, but I have an old one from Joe Montana when he was with the Chiefs.

[00:10:27] Joyce Lofstrom: Yeah. But that's about all I have. So, yeah, I don't have a big collection. 

Well, talk a little bit more about your art, and I know you do work on commission. So, do you go watch them play and then decide you want to draw them? Or – just (talk about) your process? (Do you have) something drawn available if anybody wants to buy it too. 

[00:10:49] James Hible: Whenever - that's in my spare time -If anything, I normally watch the sports on my TV or football online. If there's a standout [00:11:00] moment or player from that particular day or weekend, then I would just draw it and post it online on my social media accounts.

[00:11:07] James Hible: And I do commissions at times where people can just message me. Again, I'm easily reachable and can sort something out with that, whether it's sports or anything personal. 

[00:11:23] Joyce Lofstrom: And you probably answered this, but I was going to ask, what is your favorite type of person to illustrate or to draw?

[00:11:31] James Hible: I'd say I tend to like draw footballers. The most difficult ones, though, are those with tattoos and beards because they have more detail in them. I still like drawing them. It takes longer, but it's, it's doable.  

[00:11:46] Joyce Lofstrom: Okay. I didn't think about that. That would be more challenging to make that look right.

[00:11:51] Joyce Lofstrom: So, it's been 10 years since you were diagnosed with testicular cancer. Do you have any [00:12:00] reflections on the past 10 years, or just what's your perspective on surviving now that it's been a decade? 

[00:12:08] James Hible: I'd say I'm, I'm thankful for those in the NHS, most of them, for saving my life and also those that I've done charities with and my family and friends also who were there to support me as well.

[00:12:25] James Hible: I still have this fear that it might come back in some form of cancer, but the chances of that from a testicular are quite low. So that's some good news there. 

[00:12:42] Joyce Lofstrom: I'm a cancer survivor too. And I think any cancer you always worry about - is it going to come back?

[00:12:49] Joyce Lofstrom: You know, you go have a test or, like, I'll go have a mammogram, and I'm just like, Ugh. You know? And you just deal with it. If it happens, that's about all you can do, you know? Yeah. I was going to ask you another [00:13:00] thing about your art, but I know just how people can find you. You mentioned that you're easy to find. I know you're on LinkedIn.

[00:13:06] Joyce Lofstrom: Yeah. But do you want to tell us how people can look at your art or find you?  

[00:13:11] James Hible: Most of my art is shared on my Instagram. You can either type in my name normally, or you can enter my social media handle, HibleJames. I'm also available on other apps, so if anyone is on X or Blue Sky, it's the same.

[00:13:30] James Hible: if you type in my name as usual or my handle, which is the same as Instagram, I'm easily, easily reachable. And it's also on LinkedIn. 

[00:13:38] Joyce Lofstrom: So it's Hible James is how to find you, 

[00:13:41] James Hible: At Hible James. Or type in the handle; just put my name in. So, James Hible. Type in James Hible as usual in the search bar, and it'll be okay.

[00:13:49] Joyce Lofstrom: Alright, great. It'll probably come up.

[00:13:50] James Hible: Yeah. 

Website - https://www.jameshible.com

[00:13:51] Joyce Lofstrom: Alright. And then my last question is, what song, when you hear it, do you have to sing along to it? 

[00:13:59] James Hible: I'd say it's probably one of my favorite songs. I don’t know if you've heard of them. It's The Knights of Cydonia by the rock band Muse. Have you heard them or no?

[00:14:09] Joyce Lofstrom: I'm behind. I'm, yeah, a Beatles fan. 

[00:14:13] James Hible: You know, they do tend to a lot of rock music, That's one of my favorite songs probably, so I tend to like listening to that one. 

[00:14:21] Joyce Lofstrom: Okay. All right. 

[00:14:22] James Hible: Yeah. 

[00:14:23] Joyce Lofstrom: Well, I appreciate all your time doing this and sharing your story and your art, which I think people will be interested in.

[00:14:30] James Hible: Yeah. 

[00:14:31] Joyce Lofstrom: Thank you. I'm glad you are here with us and thank you. 

James Hible: Thank you for having me.

Joyce Lofstrom: Come back, you know, in a year or so. Tell us what's going on.

[00:14:38] James Hible: Yeah, I'd be happy to. 

[00:14:39] Joyce Lofstrom: Okay. Well, thanks, James. 

[00:14:42] James Hible: Oh, thank you. Thank you, Joyce.

[00:14:43] Closing: [00:15:00] Thank you for listening to this episode of Don't Give Up on Testicular Cancer. If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe to our program on your favorite podcast directory. You can also visit the Max Mallory Foundation at www.maxmalloryfoundation.com to listen to previous podcast episodes or donate to the Foundation. Join us again next time for another episode of Don't Give Up Testicular Cancer.