Testicular cancer is the most common cancer among men age 18 to 35.  About 8,800 men will be diagnosed with testicular cancer in the U.S.

The testicles (also known as testes) are the two oval glands contained in a sac below the penis. They make sperm and the male sex hormone testosterone. While some patients with congenital conditions, such as an undescended testis, may be at higher risk, there is no known way to prevent testicular cancer. That’s why it’s important for young men to know the symptoms of the disease and get any concerns checked out by a physician right away.

Our specialists are expert in diagnosing and treating this type of cancer employing the most modern and non-invasive approaches to eradicate disease. We work with a multidisciplinary treatment team, including oncologists and radiation specialists to provide comprehensive education and develop an individualized treatment plan tailored to each patients’ priorities, disease type and stage.

Risk Factors

There are several factors that can increase your risk of testicular cancer, including:

  • Being born with an undescended testicle
  • Abnormal testicle development
  • Family history of testicular cancer
  • Race: Testicular cancer is more common in white men than in black men

Symptoms

Talk with your health care provider as soon as you notice any of these symptoms. If you do have cancer, the longer you delay, the more chance the cancer has to spread.

  • A lump or firmness within your testicle
  • Swelling or enlargement of your testicle (with or without pain)
  • Pain, soreness or a dull ache in your testicle
  • A dull ache in the abdomen or groin
  • Back pain not caused by an injury
  • A sudden collection of fluid in the scrotum
  • Enlargement or tenderness of the breasts

Diagnosic Tests

Your doctor will do a physical exam, a blood test to measure tumor marker levels, and an ultrasound, and you may be referred to a urologist. Unlike many other cancers, testicular cancer is not typically diagnosed by taking a biopsy (tissue sample), because doing a biopsy could cause the cancer to spread.

Grading

There are three stages of testicular cancer:

  • Stage I: Cancer is found only in the testicle
  • Stage II: Cancer has spread to the lymph nodes in the abdomen
  • Stage III: Cancer has spread beyond the lymph nodes in the abdomen. The cancer may have spread to parts of the body far from the testicles, such as the lungs and liver.

When cancer is only found in the testicle, the survival rate is 99 percent. When it has spread to nearby lymph nodes and tissues, the survival rate is 96 percent. If the cancer has spread to organs or tissues far from the testicles, the survival rate is 73 percent.

In general, there are two main types of testicular cancer, seminoma and nonseminoma. Seminoma are usually a less aggressive form of the disease and can occur at any age. Nonseminomatous tumors tend to develop at a younger age and spread more rapidly.

Click here for more information https://www.cancer.org/cancer/testicular-cancer/about/key-statistics.html

Treatment

Usually, the first treatment is surgery to remove the testicle. For stage I patients, this may be the only treatment that is needed. Patients will then be followed closely by his physician with blood tests and scans to check for a return of the cancer. Stage II and III patients may need surgery to remove affected lymph nodes and may also need chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or removal of tumors that have spread farther.

Most of the time, cancer is only found in one testicle, and the other testicle still works well. Removing one testicle should not cause erection problems (ED) or make a man unable to father children. In most cases, the healthy testicle that is left should be able to make sufficient levels of testosterone for normal function. Other treatments, such as radiation and chemotherapy, can affect your sperm count and make it harder to have children. Your doctor may suggest that you bank your sperm before or soon after the testicle is removed or before advanced treatment starts.

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