One of the most common types of cancer to affect men is testicular cancer. Unfortunately, it is a type of cancer that can be quite hard to detect. This is why it is important to pay attention to everything you should know about testicular cancer symptoms, so that you can protect yourself from this disease by detecting it as early as possible if it is present. Unfortunately, it is quite common for some of the symptoms to be very misleading. Hence, if you have any reason to believe that you may have testicular cancer, it is important to seek medical assistance as soon as possible to have it confirmed or denied.
Everything You Should Know about Testicular Cancer Symptoms:
If you are aware of the different symptoms of testicular cancer, you should be able to spot it quite easily. This should start with familiarizing yourself with your own body, particularly your testicles. You will not be able to spot something different or new in your anatomy unless you are aware of what it was like before. Self-examination of testicles is as important as self-examination of breasts for women.
Common Signs of Testicular Cancer:
If you find a small lump, you will have come across the most classical sign of this type of cancer. The tumors will usually start inside the testes, which is why you should feel and push them regularly, while making sure you don’t hurt yourself. You should palpate them as well and if there is anything in there that is sized like a peanut or pea, you should get it checked out just to be safe.
When you learn everything you should know about testicular cancer symptoms, you may also find that some men do not get lumps. Rather, they experience generalized hardening of the area. This means that, every once in a while, their entire testis gets harder. Sometimes, it will even swell. It is not unheard of for the affected testis to swell to as much as three times its normal size. This could be down to other reasons as well, but is always something that you should have a physician check out.
Treatment for Testicular Cancer:
If testicular cancer is diagnosed, treatment can be quite difficult and many patients find that it significantly reduces their quality of life. Chemotherapy is usually required and, sometimes, the testicles have to be removed. Additionally, those who have had the cancer and have gone into remission are at an increased risk of developing it again, even if one of their testicles has been removed. That said, as with all types of cancer, early detection is key to increasing your chances of surviving and beating it. This is why it is so important that men do not feel embarrassed about getting to know their own testicles and regularly feeling them. If there is anything out of the ordinary when they do so, they must immediately see their physician. This is not humiliating, but rather what doctors are there for. It is possible to recover from this form of cancer, particularly if you catch it early.
