Testicular Cancer
What Is Testicular Cancer?
Testicular cancer is a type of cancer that develops in the male sperm-producing organs called testicles or testes. Testicles are present inside a pouch of skin called the scrotum, located under the penis. These organs reproduce both – sperms and testosterone hormones.
There are two major types of testicular cancer:
- Seminomas testicular cancer: This type of testicular cancer grows slowly and remains confined to a person’s testes.
- Nonseminomas testicular cancer: This is the most common type of testicular cancer which grows at a relatively faster rate and can spread from testes to other parts of a person’s body.
Testicular Cancer Symptoms
Sometimes, testicular cancer symptoms do not show up in an affected person. When they appear, they can be:
- Pain and discomfort in testes
- Swelling in testes
- Pain in lower abdominal or back
- Breast tissue enlargement
A person should go to a testicular cancer doctor as soon as he detects these symptoms in his body.
Who Is At Risk?
There are certain factors that increase the chance of a person developing these conditions. Everyone should know of these testicular cancer risk factors to avoid developing cancer. These risk factors are as follows:
- Having a family history of the same condition
- Testicular development that looks abnormal
- Coming from a certain descent like Caucasian
- Having a medical condition Cryptorchidism
Testicular Cancer Causes
There are no known causes of testicular cancer. Scientists are trying to find the reasons for testicular cancer.
As per the current studies, we know that this condition occurs when normal cells in testes get altered and start growing abnormally. These cells accumulate and form a mass. Mostly, the cancer starts from germ cells – the same cells that produce sperms.
How Is Testicular Cancer Diagnosed?
Testicular cancer diagnosis can be done by a number of methods, such as:
- Physical examination: The doctor examines your testicles physically to check the presence of lumps or swelling.
- Ultrasound test: To check the internal structure of your tests, an ultrasound test might also be done.
- Blood test: Tumor marker blood tests are done that show the level of a certain substance that indicates the presence of testicular cancer.
- Testicle removal: Your entire testicle might be removed to take tissue for a sample. This is done to prevent the possible spread of cancer through your scrotum.
- Imaging Tests: If you are tested positive for testicular cancer, your doctor might also do pelvic and abdominal CT scans to check if cancer has spread further to other organs.
How Is Testicular Cancer Treated?
Testicular cancer treatment is done according to the stage of cancer development. There are mainly three types of treatment. One or more treatment methods can be applied to cure the condition. These methods are as follows:
- Surgery: One or both testes are removed surgically as a testicular cancer cure.
- Radiation therapy: High-energy radiations are used to kill the origin cells of cancer.
- Chemotherapy: Doctors use medicine for testicular cancer in this type of treatment. These medicines might be taken either orally or through injections. These medicines go in the bloodstream and kill the cells that cause testicular cancer.
If you are someone who is looking for an oncologist to either diagnosis or treatment for testicular cancer, Care.Fit might be the perfect place for you.
We have a team of experienced doctors that will treat your condition according to your ease. To book an online appointment at any time slot you are comfortable with, you can visit Care.Fit’s website or the official app.
How Can Testicular Cancer be Prevented?
Since there are no known reasons, there is no prevention of testicular cancer. However, you can personally examine your testicles to check the signs of this condition. To self-examine, you should:
- Take a bath with warm water.
- Examine your testicles with both hands. Put your testicles between index, middle fingers, and thumbs. Roll your testes slowly to check the presence of any kind of lumps or abnormality. Notice that its normal in males to have testicles of different sizes.
- A lump is a structure whose size varies can vary from that of a pea-size to much larger. Lumps are mostly painless in nature. If you feel the presence of lumps on your testes, go immediately to any doctor to get diagnosed for testicular cancer.
- You should also get examined for testicular cancer every year as a precaution.
