But after a family trip to Wineglass Bay in October, the 27-year-old’s symptoms continued to worsen. 

Days later a visit to his GP would reveal he had metastatic testicular cancer, which had spread to the lymph nodes. 

“I had a few symptoms before that, like a sore back, but I didn’t think too much of it,” he said.

“When it got worse I thought I better go in and get it checked. Then that was it.

“I certainly wasn’t expecting it to be cancer.”

After completing nine weeks of intensive chemotherapy, Mr Bruinewoud has been determined to turn his experience into something positive. 

With the support of partner Kate Parish and 11-month-old daughter Frankie, the family are aiming to raise $10,000 for the Cancer Council. 

Along with participating in Launceston’s Relay for Life on March 30, team UNOBruno have also organised their own fundraising event to be held at The Boathouse Launceston on March 16. 

Mr Bruinewoud said the event would serve as a celebration for “kicking cancer’s butt”, but also offered the opportunity to raise awareness for the disease. 

“You don’t really want to hear the word cancer when you go in to see your GP,” he said. 

“But at the end of the day, I didn’t want to stew on it. 

“This has been a real eye opener. When you go into a hospital and you don’t really expect to see so many young people.

“It is a scary number that you actually see. It feels really good to be able to give back to it in some way.”

According to the Cancer Council, testicular cancer is the second most common cancer in men aged between 18 and 39. 

However, unlike other cancers, it may cause no symptoms. 

With some family history of cancer, Mr Bruinewoud said cancer was something that was on his mind, but he didn’t expect it “this early in the season”. 

"Obviously it was a shock straight out of the basket,” he said. 

“It wasn't something I was expecting, but I've been really lucky to have such great support through it all. Especially Kate.”

A nurse at Launceston General Hospital, Ms Parish said it was very different being on the other side of the experience. 

“The doctor did say – ‘if you could get any cancer, this is one of the ones you want,” she said. 

“But it was definitely harder being on the other side, because you don’t really have any control over what is happening.

“We were told he had a 95 per cent survival rate at five years. So far we have got through it all, so that’s the important thing.”

Determined to remain optimistic, the family have organised a “once in a lifetime” camping holiday around Australia in April – something that was postponed after Mr Bruinewoud’s diagnosis. 

However, two days before Launceston’s Relay for Life event in March, Mr Bruinewoud will also need to travel to Hobart for a PET scan.

The results will determine whether or not he will require any further surgery in Melbourne. 

“The tumour has shrunk, so I just need to find out if it is still cancer or not,” he said. 

“That is what the PET scan will do for me – at the moment it is right on the borderline.

“Depending on the news, there might be some mixed emotions at the relay.

“But having something to look forward to makes a big difference.”

Ms Parish explained that if the tumour was less than three centimetres, there would be no need for further surgical intervention. 

“It is right on three centimetres at the moment, so it will just depend. We are trying to stay positive,” she said. 

More than $15,000 worth of goods and services have been donated to the family's fundraising event at The Boathouse. 

Mr Bruinewoud said he was overwhelmed by the community’s support.