Two months ago, Kyle Johnson was working hard to prepare for the 2010-11 SJHL season.

The 20-year-old forward from Buena Vista, who is an alternate captain for the Estevan Bruins, was excited with the promise that the upcoming season possessed for the club.

But on August 12 – ironically, his 20th birthday – Johnson was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

Johnson said there was a fairly noticeable lump on his left testicle. After an ultrasound, doctors diagnosed the cancer. He promptly underwent surgery, and the testicle was removed.

“It was a little bit of a curveball,” said Johnson. “That's the last thing you want to hear, is when they speculate that you have germ cells and metastasizes in your body. But it all worked out for the best. I got treated fairly rapidly, and things are going to get back on track here.”

Doctors didn’t know whether the cancer had reached Johnson’s lymph nodes or other parts of his body. As it turns out, the cancer didn’t spread, thanks to early detection.

Less than a month after the surgery, Johnson was back on the ice. He missed the Bruins fall camp during the Labour Day long weekend, but started to practice after camp, and he played in the Bruins’ pre-season finale September 12.

He was in the line-up for the Bruins' first two games of the regular season against the Melville Millionaires. Johnson picked up a goal and two assists in the two games, and helped the Bruins sweep Melville in the season-opening home-and-home series for the first time since 2006.

“One of the things about the threat of testicular cancer in young men is that if you can detect it early and find it, there's a good chance that you can keep it down to Stage 1, and be given a clean bill of health,” said Johnson.

“I just have to know my body, and I have to make sure that I pay attention to anything out of the ordinary. I’ve been deemed clear and I'm almost 100 per cent positive that I'm going to live a complete, normal and healthy life now.”

Johnson said he wants people to understand the importance of awareness and early detection, not just for testicular cancer, but other forms of cancer.

He said he never thought he would have the disease, which is among the most frequently diagnosed forms of cancer in young men, he said.

“Last year at the SJHL Showcase, there was a lady going around, and making a video to raise awareness,” said Johnson. “Honest to God, if I hadn't have seen that video, I wouldn't have had the where with all to talk to someone and to go get it checked out.

Johnson vowed that he would make sure his teammates know about the video and the signs of testicular cancer.

A return to the ice this year was always one of his objectives once he found out he had cancer, he said. But he didn’t expect to be playing the game he loves so soon after surgery.

“I was just worried about the surgery, what it would take for the recuperation time, and get back on the ice,” said Johnson. “All I could think about was hockey, which in hindsight, seems a little short-sighted that I was just worried about hockey, but in the end, it all worked out well. I didn't even miss a game.”

And he considers himself fortunate to be playing hockey. Yale hockey player Mandi Schwartz – the sister of former Notre Dame Hounds Rylan and Jayden Schwartz – and Yorkton Terriers goaltender Luke Boechler have both been diagnosed with leukemia and have needed stem cell treatments. Their hockey careers are on hold.

“My family and I were distraught over the best kind of cancer to have, and they (Schwartz and Boechler) are having stem cell transplants. It's life or death for them. I can't even imagine the agony that faces them and their families.”

Johnson said his conditioning is close to the level that it was at before the surgery, and he looks forward to being at full strength now that the SJHL season is underway.