Men Finding Information About Testicular Cancer

Men want to know the facts about testicular cancer so that they can make good decisions about how to detect it, how to get it diagnosed and how to treat it. Men need facts and...

Men want to know the facts about testicular cancer so that they can make good decisions about how to detect it, how to get it diagnosed and how to treat it. Men need facts and to be informed about their choices. Here are some basic facts that men can use to have informative discussions with their doctors.

What it is:

Testicular cancer is when cancer forms in the tissues of the testis. Testis is the egg-shaped gland that is located inside the scrotum. They make sperm and the male hormones. Young men usually get cancer, but it can strike men at any age. There are two types of testicular cancer – seminomas grow slowly and are sensitive to radiation therapy and nonseminomas, which grow more quickly than seminomas and are different cell types.

Discovering it:

Men can discover abnormalities when they conduct self-examinations, or a doctor can detect lumps when doing an exam for an unrelated medical issue. Sometimes the suspicion occurs when undergoing fertility testing.

Detection is sometimes made when the man feels a lump, or when the doctor notices swollen lymph nodes or when the man notices that his testicles just seem different. Pain can be a symptom or discomfort in a testicle or in the scrotum. Sometimes there is enlargement of a testicle or a feeling of heaviness in the scrotum. A man may also feel a dull ache in the lower abdomen, back or even in his groin area. He may notice a sudden pooling of fluid in the scrotum. All of these are potential symptoms of testicular cancer that should be addressed by a doctor as soon as possible.

Screening for it:

Imaging technologies, tumor markers, and biopsy procedures can do testicular cancer screening. Screening occurs before there are any symptoms of cancer. The screening is looking for abnormal tissue.

Getting the diagnosis:

In order to arrive at a diagnosis the doctor will perform a physical exam, and may order some diagnostic tests that may include blood tests to measure for tumor markers such as alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), Beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (

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