Australian cricketer Nic Maddinson of New South Wales has openly shared his “daunting” journey battling testicular cancer. He discovered a tumor in March this year, leading to surgery and nine weeks of chemotherapy over the winter period.
The 33-year-old athlete, who has played three Tests and six T20Is for Australia, was absent from the New South Wales squad at the start of the current season. He was diagnosed in April and has only recently resumed full training after his treatment.
Maddinson played his last match for New South Wales in early March 2024-25, before being dropped for the final Sheffield Shield game. Feeling run-down and attributing it to a virus, he mentioned a lump he had found to Dr. John Orchard during his post-season review.
Scans revealed a tumor, which was immediately removed surgically. However, further tests seven weeks later indicated that the cancer had spread.
“Once I found out I had to have chemo, that was pretty hard to deal with,” Maddinson told Nine Newspapers. “It had spread to parts of my abdominal lymph nodes and lung. That was a bit where it was pretty daunting.”
At the time, Maddinson`s wife, Bianca, was pregnant with their second child. She had to leave her job as a dentist to care for their toddler son while Nic underwent treatment.
“By the second or third week, I lost all my hair. I was feeling pretty average,” Maddinson recounted. “I was taking types of steroids to manage side effects, but they would keep me up at night. I`d be at the hospital from about 11 am to 4 pm. Then a sleep. Then I`d force myself to have dinner. I`d sleep until about 1 am, but sometimes I`d then be awake until 6 am. I found that difficult. I was super drained and felt like I had to sleep 24/7. I felt guilty. I couldn`t do anything around the house.”
He shared his illness with only a few teammates, his close friend Adam Zampa being one exception.
Chemotherapy concluded on July 14. Ten days later, he had his first hit in the nets. He had to wait another two months before being cleared for full training.
“Eight weeks after my last chemo round, I got good news. The treatment had worked,” Maddinson said. “My recent tests were all good, and I can go about getting back into cricket, which I love.”
He is now continuing to build up his fitness and is expected to be available for Sydney premier cricket and potentially the New South Wales second XI in the coming weeks, with an eye towards a possible return to the Shield team in November.
“I would still love to play Test cricket again, but I`m more realistic now,” Maddinson admitted. “The older you get, the less likely it is to happen. I had a really good opportunity last year, and I just didn`t really grab it. I`m just really excited to try and play cricket again. I was dropped at the end of last year, so I`m not expecting to be straight back in the side. The most important thing would be to say I am available. That would be a nice day.”
Following the birth of his second son, Wilder, Maddinson is grateful for his recovery and urges others to get checked if they feel anything abnormal.
“When I found out I needed chemo, it hit me hard because I almost didn`t go for the check-up,” Maddinson stated. “I thought it would just go away. Realizing that I caught it probably as early as I could have, and it still spread to other parts of my body, was terrifying. I just think it`s so important if you have anything you`re worried about, get it checked out. It feels foolish not to tell my story. If even one person reads it and gets checked, I`ll be happy. I grew up in the country, and a lot of people brush these things off. It`s that `she`ll be right` attitude. Get things checked out; it can make all the difference.”
