Bryan Myers

Watching the UK’s longest-running soap opera, Coronation Street, saved a Barrie man’s life.

Scott Wray, 27, decided to give himself a self-examination following a Corrie storyline where one character, Robert Preston played by Tristan Gemmill, finds a lump on his testicle.

Preston discovers a lump, and is convinced by his girlfriend on the show to have it checked out. The lump is deemed malignant and Preston has to have it removed.

“In the end, he knuckled down and had it done,” Wray said. “It’s a very factual storyline.”

Wray, originally from Durham, England, said he checked now and then, but after following the Corrie drama, performed a more thorough examination.

“I checked around the back, which I don’t normally do. It was kind of hidden,” Wray said.

Wray said he found a 1.5 cm lump, about the size of a pea. Wray said there wasn’t any pain associated with finding the lump.

Wray visited the walk-in clinic, got a referral to a urologist, and quickly had an appointment at the RVH.

“I think I shocked the urologist,” Wray said. “I was so prepared for it because I’d seen [Preston’s] worries on the show. It felt like I’d already been through it.”

“It’s painful now, you’ve pretty much lost an organ,” Wray said, “but it’s fatal if you leave it.”

Wray said he was thankful that Coronation Street had raised awareness for testicular cancer.

“It’s not a big deal,” Wray said. “People get kind of worried about it.”

Wray, like fictional Corrie character, Preston, has had a testicle removed.

“My testosterone will drop temporarily, but then in the next couple of months the other one will do the job of two,” Wray said. “It reverts back to normal.”

Wray’s story has gotten a response in the UK from Coronation Street, his wife, Emily, tweeted about Wray’s procedure, and received a response from Tristan Gemmill. “I was actually speaking to him earlier,” Wray said. BBC Manchester ran the story and connected Wray and Gemmill by telephone.