All You Should Know About Testicular Cancer And How To Detect It

Regular control and prevention is the best way of staying healthy. Although cancer is one of the most common illnesses today, most of the cancer types can be efficiently treated if noticed in time. That is why you should not avoid seeing your doctor every now and then. Guys particularly should be careful when it comes to their intimate parts.

Testicular cancer is not that often and can be treated easily but only if you start the process as soon as possible. Most of the patients who have treated testicular cancer on time have healed completely and without any aftereffects. But there are also many examples of fatal consequences that are mostly caused by undue treatment.

Testicles and Cancer                                                                 

Testicles are crucial for men's reproductive and general health. They are an integral part of your reproductive system and the source of sperm and various male hormones such as testosterone. Without them, you will be unable of having any sexual desire or any prospect of having children. These should be enough reasons to pay particular attention to your "boy's" sexual health.

Although testicular cancer is rare when compared to other types of this disease, it still deserves precaution. No matter what age you might be there are still chances of suffering from testicular cancer. Men aged between 20 and 34 are the most common patients and most of them are efficiently healed if the cancer was discovered in an early phase. In many cases, the treatment was efficient even if cancer has already spread. But have in mind that this lowers your chance of defeating the illness completely unharmed.

Testicular cancer has similar effects as all other, which means that it leads to the creation of abnormal cells that are harmful to your body. If this process continues your testicles will grow an abnormal size and cancer can even spread to other parts of the body. There are still no certain causes of testicular cancer but an unhealthy way of life, stress, some other illnesses (Klinefelter syndrome for example) and a presence of cancer in your family are some of the common conditions. Perhaps it is more important to be aware of symptoms of testicular cancer that should be the signal for visiting a doctor right away.

Symptoms Of A Testicular Cancer And Possible Treatments

Your body may give you various signals to warn you something is wrong with your testicles, but if you are not listening to it, you may well end up with a dangerous disease such as cancer. However, it is important also to know what are the symptoms of testicular cancer and once you notice them, you are then able to act fast and against the disease.

One of the most frequent symptoms is a lump in your testicles. If you notice it on your testicles, you will instantly see that a lump is painless, it can be small but over the time, it may become bigger and bigger, as well as to spread to other organs in your body.

Another significant symptom may be swelling in the testicles or scrotum. Very often, pain can be present as well, with or without the swelling. At the matter of fact, swelling of the testicles is natural in some cases, but if it becomes too frequent, then it is high time for you to see your doctor.

Change in the shape and size of one of your testicles may also be a sign of testicular cancer. Often, one testicle can be more firm than the other or sometimes bigger than usual. If you detect this kind of a change, don't leave it just like that. Schedule an appointment with your doctor's and dispel all the doubts.

You may also see your breasts have grown a little bit. This is not so frequent symptom but it has been noticed in several kinds of testicular cancer. And in addition, some patients suffering from testicular cancer have also felt dull pain and discomfort.

What Should You Do In Case You Notice Some Of The Symptoms?

The good thing to do inevitably once a month is to have a self-examination. Make a bubble bath with a warm water and apply a gentle massage to your testicles with both your hands. This way you can examine your testicles and perhaps detect a lump that indicates an early stage of the testicular tumor. In case this happens, make sure you urgently visit your doctor. Once a doctor becomes able to give you a diagnosis, you are then ready to talk about any further steps that are to be taken.

Testicular Self Examination

Have you ever examined your testicles? If the answer is no or few years ago, it is time to perform a self examination. This self examination can be very helpful when it comes to testicular cancer detection or other medical conditions that might affect your testicles.

Although the number of people suffering from testicular cancer is not that high, according to some statistics this number is rising constantly every year. Expert have come to a conclusion that if you have suffered from incompletely lowered testicles (cryptorchidism) or an inguinal hernia, you have around 10%-20% higher chances of developing testicular cancer. Of course there are few other risk factors and their influence is still being studied. These factors include – premature puberty, family diseases, maternal smoking during pregnancy, age of the mother at birth, complications during birth and various types of radiation.  Testicular cancer can be easily spotted with an examination. At the beginning it comes in a form of induration or lump that can be felt during examination. However not every lump is a testicular cancer and that’s why you should visit your doctor to determine the real reason for those lumps. In addition, you can take note for some of the symptoms of testicular cancer. First of all, look for gradually or rapid movement of one of the testicles. Find out if there are any swellings (painful or painless) on any spot on the testicles. See if you have a feeling of heaviness or unusual sensitivity in one of the testicles. Another symptom of testicular cancer is increased pressure by the lymph nodes to the bladder although this symptom is common for kidney disease too.

When it comes to self examination, experts suggest that these examinations should be performed once a month and on the same if possible. The testicles must be relaxed so try to perform this self examination in a warm room and the best time do to it is after you’ve taken a shower or bath. Don’t examine the two testicles at one, check them one by one and use the other one for comparison. It is better to know the elements of your testicles like vessels, vas deferens and epididymis are. In this way you can notice all the changes easily.

In order to perform a proper self examination you should take one of the testicles in both hands so that the thumb and other fingers of both hands are flat in order to feel the testicles. Check each testicle separately and try to keep an order. First check the epididymis, after that vas deferens and in the end the vessels. Make sure you’ve checked both testicles in the same order. Look for any unusual lumps, swelling or indurances.

Even if you are suffering from testicular cancer, you should not be worried, because treatment of testicular cancer is one of the most successful and around 90% of the people are cured. In most cases surgery is required as well as chemotherapy. That’s why don’t forget to perform testicular self examination frequently.