Six years on, he is urging young cancer sufferers to think long-term. Read his story from Daily Mail below:
The only thing most teenagers have to worry about is going to school and their friends.
But in 2007 at the age of 16, Joey Lynch was in a hospital bed after he had just been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, deciding whether or not to freeze his sperm so he could have the chance to have children in the future.
Due to the treatments he has received since then – including chemotherapy, total body radiation and two stem-cell transplants – the now 22-year-old’s reproductive system is no longer viable.
He said this was not a decision he had even thought about when he was diagnosed until a nurse suggested it.
‘When she suggested it I wasn’t take aback because I had been in hospital for three days already. I thought it was a smart thing to do,’ Mr Lynch told Daily Mail Australia.
‘It was a very important [decision]. I wasn’t in a relationship at the time but it wasn’t at the forefront of mind.
‘You have no idea what the treatment will do to you.
‘I’m that age now that I see my friends and family members having babies on Facebook and Instagram.
‘It’s not going to be a pleasant experience with IVF but I’m glad I have that chance than no chance at all.’
These are only one of the many issues Mr Lynch had to consider as a young cancer patient, which is more common than most people think.
Every day another three young Australians aged 15 to 25 are diagnosed with cancer.
Mr Lynch said when he found out he had cancer he was ‘obviously shocked’.
‘It was a kick in the guts. It’s not something you anticipate hearing when you go to the doctor,’ he said.
‘Until you actually get it and realise the amount of young people with cancer, you never think of young people and cancer, it never crosses your mind.’
In the days after he was diagnosed, Mr Lynch said he thought about how he was going to make it through high school and other study plans – whether or not part-time study and distance education were options.
