CARLTON will give Sam Rowe every chance to play on with the Blues after the mature-age recruit revealed his battle with testicular cancer.

Rowe, 24, has had an operation to remove a lump and will immediately begin a six-week course of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with grade one (the lowest grade) cancer.

Blues coach Brett Ratten said the club expected the key-position player to make a full recovery and resume his career next year.

But football was a distant second in Ratten's thoughts yesterday as he spoke of the club's 2011 second-round draft pick.

"Sam's a great kid, got a great outlook on life. His girl (Natasha) and his family are here, so he's got a lot of people around him," Ratten said.

"He was quite emotional this morning, but the people around him and the support he'll get will just be ongoing from here."

Ratten said Rowe first experienced a sign of trouble "a few weeks ago".

"We had to work with Sam about how he wanted to address the group and this morning he felt comfortable and spoke to the group before he goes in for some chemo."

It is expected the effects of chemotherapy will last for up to two months after his treatment.

Rowe, a former Swans rookie drafted from SANFL club Norwood in November, was looking ahead but said there was no rush.

"Football's a great game and we love being a part of it ... (but) we just want Sam to go through this, get himself right and if it takes a little longer than we first thought, so be it," Ratten said.

Originally published as Blues to support ill recruit