If your a man, you should be checking yourself regularly and know what is normal, so if a change does happen, you can catch it early. The link below will take you to some fact sheets on how to check yourself and some videos on what to look out for.
Who’s at risk?
In Australia, testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young men.
Men with undescended testes at birth, or who have a family history, like a father or brother who has had testicular cancer, are at an increased risk. And if you’ve had testicular cancer before, there’s also a heightened risk it could return.
The facts about testicular cancer
Testicles are responsible for the production of male hormones (mostly testosterone) and sperm. Testicular cancer starts as an abnormal growth or tumour that develops in one or both testicles. There are several types of testicular cancer, but the most common is the germ cell tumour.
If you've been diagnosed with testicular cancer
The most important step is to talk to your doctor about treatment choices. You may consider getting a second or third doctor’s opinion.
Treatment options
Testicular cancer is a highly treatable cancer and can be effectively treated, and often cured, if diagnosed and treated early. Advanced testicular cancer can also be cured with treatment including:
- Orchiectomy (surgical removal of the affected testis), done under general anesthetic
- Chemotherapy or radiotherapy, often prescribed after surgery to treat any remaining cancer cells that may have spread to other parts of the body, such as lymph nodes
Side effects
Testicular cancer and the removal of one testicle should not alter your ability to have sex or have children. The effect on fertility following removal of one of the testicles is minimal as a single testicle produces such large numbers of sperm. Men with testicular cancer should talk to their oncologist about sperm banking before commencing chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
