Ballsy film to highlight testicular cancer

A Nova Scotia filmmaker says he's planning to push a giant rubber ball across North America to bring attention to testicular cancer and to make a documentary about the epic trip.

"I've always had big ideas and been kind of out there," said Thomas Cantley, 27, who got his cancer diagnosis last year.

He says his documentary, Ballsy, will chronicle his journey as he interviews health-care workers and cancer survivors along the way.

"Everyone's always told me I was ballsy even before I got this."

Cantley, who now lives in New York City, has undergone surgery to remove his left testicle and some lymph nodes.

'I want to create a movement for men's health because men just don't go to the doctor as often as they should.' —Thomas Cantley

He says he was in pain for months before he sought medical help and discovered he had the cancer.

"I want to create a movement for men's health because men just don't go to the doctor as often as they should."

He said that he decided to film his surgery to take his mind off the situation. The inspiration for a bigger project came in the form of a 17-year-old boy who was about to undergo the same procedure.

"I had no idea. He just really impacted me."

According to Health Canada statistics, testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young Canadian men between the ages of 15 and 29.  It is easily treatable and curable if caught early.

Cantley says he and a producer in New York came up with the idea of pushing a two-metre white ball from Los Angeles to New York and then from Toronto to Halifax.

Cantley is seeking corporate sponsors and says he's spoken with the American Cancer Society, the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Canadian Testicular Cancer Association.

His fundraising campaign launches in Halifax on Monday with a silent auction at the Seahorse Tavern.

Although there's no start date yet, the filmmaker says he's hoping to take advantage of the summer weather.