London, Apr 7 : Ronan Keating has said that he was in a "mess" when he was confronted with a testicular cancer scare on a holiday recently.

The Boyzone singer said that he "panicked" when he discovered a lump on his testicles during a holiday to South Africa.

The 32-year-old crooner said that he was a bundle of nerves for two weeks, before he visited his doctor for a check-up and was given an all-clear chit.

The `If Tomorrow Never Comes' hitmaker made the above comments during an interview with the BBC''s Newsnight current affairs programme for a special episode focusing on cancer.

"I was in South Africa on holidays with my family. I found a lump, I panicked," The Telegraph quoted Keating as telling the show''s presenter Gavin Esler.

He added: "I called my doctor and he said: "listen, relax, don''t worry about it - as soon as you get home, get it checked.

"So I did, and it was fine, a small cyst almost, very regular. But you know, for those two weeks on holidays I was a mess."

Keating is now greatly associated with promoting awareness of the disease and is urging men to seek medical advice if they suspect they have fallen victim to it.

He said: "Men have to wake up to testicular cancer.

"None of us wants to go to the doctor, and you know, drop your trousers and get your testicles checked." (ANI)