KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 — It was 90 minutes of non-stop recording that was eventually whittled down to 11 minutes and 31 seconds.

But in that video, YouTuber, filmmaker and Grim Film founder, Jared Lee and his wife, actress and digital illustrator Marianne Tan gave a straight talk of Lee’s diagnosis of testicular cancer and the surgery that followed.

"We kept the more important points. It was to create awareness about cancer,” said Lee.

"I didn’t do it to get sympathy. I wanted people to know more about it.”

The video was uploaded on Grim Film’s YouTube channel and has garnered more than 260,000 views since it was uploaded on March 22.

"It was the fastest climbing video for us. And it ‘broke’ my social media accounts.”

Lee said while some family and friends did not know about his condition until the video came out (in fact, the couple did not inform their parents until after the surgery), there were others who messaged him to say they went to get themselves checked after watching it.

"A lot of people are ashamed to talk about the size of testicles and don’t know what to do,” he added.

The discovery of the tumour and subsequent surgery was carried out at the end of February and Lee, 33, is expected to undergo two cycles of chemotherapy. His first session is on Monday.

He was diagnosed with stage 1a testicular cancer and considers himself lucky the cancer did not spread to other parts of his body. The tumour itself was considered large at 7cm.

He said everything went by quickly, adding that they first asked a friend, who was a general practitioner, to check him out.

"I felt one testicle was bigger than normal. And if I hadn’t gone to see him that night, I would not have thought it was serious.”

Lee then went to see a urologist. An ultrasound was carried out.

The doctor pointed to the word "cancer” and told Lee he would have to have his left testicle removed immediately.

"Of course, before the surgery, thoughts like not being around to do the things I planned or to be with my loved ones went through my mind.”

While the surgery itself was completed quickly, Lee needed weeks to recover and took to wearing sarong belonging to his mother-in-law as it hurt to wear anything else.

He even wore it to attend a video shoot.

"I’m cool about it (having one testicle).”

In the meantime, Lee is involved in a project with Cancer Research Malaysia ― an involvement that started before his diagnosis.

Lee added that he did not intend to put up another video about his cancer unless there was a development.

"I am not doing it to get the hits or views. If there is any more information to share, I will do another one.”

He also said his relationship with Tan had grown stronger.

"We have always been straight with each other. We appreciate each other more now.”

Tan, of OlaBola fame, said it was important to get the message out about cancer and she supported Lee’s move to talk about it.

"It was shocking and completely unexpected,” she said of her husband’s diagnosis.

"The doctor did tell us that it was the ‘best’ kind of cancer to get because it was curable.”

Tan added that they were planning to store Lee’s sperm at a sperm bank before he started chemotherapy as a precautionary measure.

"We were planning to start a family next year. But for the both of us, we are okay if we do or don’t have kids.”

"And Jared has been cool about things. It hasn’t emasculated him.”

When asked if she had felt something was wrong, Tan said the change was so gradual she could not tell the difference.

"I felt so guilty because I didn’t think anything was wrong. It was only after the operation that I saw the difference.”

She added the cancer scare had brought them closer and it had brought back the intensity to the relationship, especially with the thought they could have lost each other.

What an expert says

Oncologist Datuk Dr Mohamed Ibrahim A. Wahid said testicular cancer was uncommon in Malaysia but potentially curable.

However, he warned the cancer could recur if not properly treated, adding that one cause of the cancer was when the testes does not descend into the scrotum.

An ultrasound, CT or PET scan is carried out by an oncologist to determine the cancer spread.

Blood tests can also be done to detect tumour markers.

The removal of the testicle is done by making an incision near the groin area and the testicle is removed from the scrotum.

The American Cancer Society said the surgeon then "ties off the blood and lymph vessels in the spermatic cord” while other precautions are taken to stop the cancer cells from spreading.

The patient is then referred to an oncologist.

Dr Mohamed Ibrahim said it was still possible for a man to father a child after testicular cancer treatment, adding that the length of time taken to be fertile again depended on the stage of cancer and type of treatment.

"I had a patient in stage three and he managed to have children about three years after completing chemotherapy,” he added.