Introduction |
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Testicular cancer affects a man's testes or 'balls'. The number of cases has doubled over the past twenty years
and each year in the UK around 1,500 new cases are diagnosed.
The testes are a man's sperm production factories. On average around 300 million sperm are produced by the testes every day. They also produce the male sex hormone testosterone that is responsible for a man's physical characteristics. Testicular cancer is the most common cancer that affecting young men between the ages of 19 to 44 years old. Luckily, if it is detected early enough it is almost always curable, with the majority of men who have treatment making a full recovery. So why are men still dying from it every year? |
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Causes of Testicular Cancer |
It's not known why testicular cancer occurs or why one man is more likely to get it than another. It
may be hereditary. If you have a close male relative with testicular cancer then you could be ten times
more likely to develop it. Men who had an undescended or partly descended testicle are five times more
likely to develop testicular cancer.
Examine your balls monthlyAfter a warm bath or shower look out for: - Testicle swelling.- A pea-sized hard lump on the testicle. - A dull ache. - A sharp pain felt around the testicle or in the scrotum. - If something doesn't feel right - get it checked out - don't ignore it! Some research suggests that regular exercise may prevent testicular cancer from developing. Certainly if a boy with an undescended testicle has it corrected before the age of ten then his risk drops back down to the average risk a man has of developing testicular cancer which is around one in 450. However, since little is known and understood about why testicular cancer develops the emphasis focuses on being more aware and examining the testicles regularly. Then, if cancer does develop it can be detected and treated early on. Ideally self-examination is done monthly. First of all, get used to what your testicles feel like normally by getting to know them. If you're not sure what they are supposed to feel like then ask your doctor to show you. Self-examination is best done after a bath or shower when the scrotum is relaxed. It's no good examining them when you have an erection because the scrotal sac is too tight preventing you from feeling them properly. Holding your scrotum in the palms of the hands use your fingers and thumbs to examine the shape, size, consistency, and smoothness of the testes. It's not unusual for one testicle to be larger than the other or for one to hang lower than the other. |
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Ball Facts! |
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Testicular cancer is the most common cancer to affect young men.
There are around 1,500 new cases a year in the UK.
The number of cases has doubled in last 20 years.
It mostly affects men between 19 to 44 years of age.
Detected early enough it is almost always curable.
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Why don't men check themselves? |
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Some say they're embarrassed, some are frightened of finding anything wrong. Others remember
sporting days where any testicular contact was associated with excruciating pain and believe
quite wrongly that self-examination will be painful.Some men leave it to their partners to take
the responsibility. Often it's a woman who discovers the problem and sends her man to the doctor!
Many men say they're not sure how to examine themselves or what to look out for. If something doesn't
feel right then get it checked out by your doctor, don't ignore it. Bob Champion won the Grand National,
and Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France, both after having suffered with the disease - and they didn't
let it stop them achieving success after they were diagnosed.
An excellent leaflet on testicular cancer and self-examination called 'A Whole New Ball Game' is available free by sending a SAE to The Imperial Cancer Research Fund, PO Box 123, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PX. |
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What are the symptoms? |
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Diagnosis & treatment |
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To diagnose testicular cancer your GP will examine your testicle and feel for any lumps or swellings. Your
GP may need to refer you to the hospital for treatment and will arrange for a blood test and an ultrasound
which will show a change of structure in the testicle.
If you are referred to a specialist, then they may arrange for you to have an Orchidectomy (removal of the testicle). The testicle is then sent to the laboratory for tissue testing If the tumour is low grade then a surveillance policy may be adopted. If the tumour is more advanced then Chemotherapy or occasionally Radiotherapy may be used. A prosthetic testicle replaces the one removed to ensure that the scrotum appears normal. Having a testicle removed shouldn't affect a man's Sex Life or his chances of becoming a father. |
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Other Help Resources |
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CancerBACUP 3 Bath Place Rivington Street London, EC2A 3DR Tel:0207 920 7206 http://www.cancerbacup.org.uk/Cancertype/Testes/ Cancer Research 61 Lincoln's Inn Fields London, WC2A 3PX Tel: 020 7242 0200 http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/ Macmillan Cancer Relief 89 Albert Embankment London, SE1 7UQ Tel 020 7840 7840 http://www.macmillan.org.uk/ |
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