Testicular cancer: “The greatest threat to men”

Testicular cancer simply means the formation of malignant cells in one or more testicle. Testicles in the body of males are considered as the sex glands that produces testosterone or sperms. It is located inside a sack of loose skin called scrotum which lies exactly below the penis.

The immature sperms within the testicles are produced by the germ cells and it’s the germ cell which initializes the starting of testicular cancer in males. There are two main types of germ cell tumors known as the seminomas and teratomas. These two types of tumors grow, spread and are treated differently. This condition is most common in men in the age group of 20 to 35 years. Seminomas occur in younger patients while older patients become victim to teratomas.

Symptoms

The common symptoms are described as under:

 An unusual lump which is painless along with the swelling in either testicles.

 The abnormal change in the general feel of the testicles.

 A minor pain in the lower abdomen or the groin.

 A very sudden development of an abnormal fluid in the scrotum.

 A feeling of pain or discomfort in the testicles or the scrotum.

These above symptoms can be the signs of any other disease but if found must not be ignored and a doctor should be consulted immediately.

Diagnosis

Treatment

The accurate treatment will depend on the type and advancement of the disease. In most of the cases it is treated by removing the affected testicles by operation. This is done due to the fact that loss of one testicle does not affect man’s ability to have an erection or father children.

An artificial testicle is put in place of the original one to restore a normal appearance. In more advance stages when the cancer crosses the limits of the testicles and spreads to other parts then radiotherapy or chemotherapy are used. Radiotherapy is used for treating Seminomas; however chemotherapy is used for both types of cancer even if it is confined to the testicles only.

Also read our article about Melanoma Skin Cancer