Father who hurt his bicep while swinging on monkey bars at a park later diagnosed with cancer

Doting dad who hurt his bicep while swinging on the monkey bars at a park explains how the bizarre injury saw him diagnosed with a rare CANCER

Teacher Matthew Fydler, 43, was diagnosed with rare form of cancer last year
Father-of-two saw his doctor the day after injuring himself at a local park
He now faces an uncertain future after confirmation he has rhabdomyosarcoma

By Andrew Prentice For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 00:00 BST, 25 June 2021 | Updated: 03:14 BST, 25 June 2021

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A father-of-two is facing the biggest battle of his life after hurting his bicep while swinging on the monkey bars at a playground resulted in a devastating cancer diagnosis.

Gold Coast teacher Matthew Fydler, 43, was left speechless last year when doctors confirmed he had rhabdomyosarcoma, which forms in soft tissue and is more common in children.

Fydler booked in to see a doctor less than 24 hours after injuring his arm while at a local park with his kids, Kai and Millie.

With the pain in his arm not subsiding, the director of the sports academy at Terranora's Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School was stunned to hear he had the uncommon cancer type.

Gold Coast teacher Matthew Fydler is facing the biggest battle of his life after he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer

The doting father of two injured his bicep at a local park with his two kids - with the pain getting more severe, he saw his local doctor, who later confirmed he had rhabdomyosarcoma

An ultrasound discovered a large mass initially believed to be a hematoma - a collection of blood outside a blood vessel.

Fydler underwent five weeks of radiation therapy and had additional surgery to cut out part of the bicep muscle.

His shattered wife Amy revealed the cancer then rapidly spread to his lungs.

A subsequent round of chemotherapy across eight weeks wasn't able to stop the cancer in its tracks.

'In that time most of the (seven) lung tumours had doubled in size,' she told 7News.

'The doctors were floored, everyone was thinking what do we do next.'

Mrs Fydler revealed her brave husband is doing his best to stay positive and soldiers on each day for the sake of his young children.

She described her spouse as 'the most positive, happy and caring guy' and that her family have no choice but to 'ride the rollercoaster.'

The family of four face an uncertain future, with a number of Mr Fydler's tumours doubling in size despite radiation therapy

A GoFundMe page has been established to help the family with associated costs.

A number of generous donations online exceeding the $100,000 target humbled Mr Fydler.

'The amazing generosity, compassion and words of support have blown Amy (Matt's wife) and I away,' he wrote on the GoFundMe page.

'We will be forever thankful to all of you awesome people who have been a part of this journey.

'During an extremely challenging and most scary time in my life, you have all given me the inspiration and hope to fight the hell out of this illness.'

What is Rhabdomyosarcoma?

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a type of sarcoma made up of cells that normally develop into skeletal (voluntary) muscles. These are muscles that we control to move parts of our body.

Most rhabdomyosarcomas develop in children and teens, but they can also occur in adults.

Adults are more likely to have faster-growing types of RMS and to have them in parts of the body that are harder to treat. Because of this, RMS in adults is often harder to treat effectively.

Common sites of RMS include:

* The head and neck (such as near the eye, inside the nasal sinuses or throat, or near the spine in the neck)

* Urinary and reproductive organs (bladder, prostate gland, or any of the female organs)

* Arms and legs

* Trunk (chest and abdomen)