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Testicular cancer
Testicularcancerisanuncommoncancerthatoccursmainlyinmenagedbetween25and44 years.About154Victorianmalesarediagnosedwiththiscancereachyear.Theexactcause remainsunknown,butfactorsthatmayincreaseamansriskincludeundescendedtestesora familyhistoryoftesticularcancer.Inmostcases,testicularcanceriscurable. Thetesticles(testes)aretwosmall,oval-shapedorganslocatedbehindthepenisinaskinsack calledthescrotum.Theyarepartofthemalereproductivesystem.Spermandsexhormonesare madebythetesticles. Symptoms Thesymptomsoftesticularcancercaninclude: Aswellingorlumpinthetesticle,usuallypainless Afeelingofheavinessinthescrotum Persistentacheinthelowerabdomenortheaffectedtesticle.

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Mosttesticularlumpsarenotcancerbutitisimportanttoseeyourdoctorifyouhaveanyofthese symptoms. Acancerouslumpmaybeassmallasapeaormuchlarger.Inmostcasesonlyonetesticleis affected.Sometimestesticularcancercellsspreadintothelymphglandsandotherorgansinthe body(mostcommonlythelungs).Ifthishappens,youmayhaveothersymptomssuchasacough orshortnessofbreath.Eveniftesticularcancerspreads,itcanstillusuallybecured. Different types of testicular cancer Therearetwomaintypesoftesticularcancer: Teratomamenagedbetween15and30yearsaremorelikelytodevelopthistype. Seminomamenagedbetween25and55yearsaremorelikelytodevelopthistype.

Occasionally,testiculartumourscanbeamixofbothtypes.Theymayalsobecalledgermcell tumours. Diagnosis Ifyoufeelaswellingoranyothertypeofunusualchangeinoneofyourtesticles,itisimportantto seeyourdoctor.Diagnosingtesticularcancerinvolvesanumberoftestsincluding: Physicalexaminationofthetesticles Ultrasoundscanthishelpstodistinguishbetweencancersandlumpsduetoothercauses Bloodtestsmanytesticularcancersproduceahormonethatcanbemeasuredinthe blood.Doctorscallthemmarkers.

Iftheultrasoundresultssuggestcancer,theaffectedtesticlewillneedtoberemovedsurgically. Thecellsfromthelumpwillbeexaminedunderamicroscope.Unfortunately,thisistheonlywayto confirmtesticularcancer.Doctorswillonlydothisoperationiftheyarefairlysurethatitiscancer. Ifyourdoctorsuspectsthatthecancerhasspreadtootherpartsofthebody,theywilldoother testssuchachestx-rayandscanseithermagneticresonanceimaging(MRI)scanoracomputed tomography(CT)scan. Treatment

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Surgicalremovaloftheaffectedtesticle(orchidectomyororchiectomy)isusuallythefirst treatmentfortesticularcancer.Thetesticlecanbereplacedwithafalseonecalledaprosthesis. Youcanusuallygohomethenextdayaftersurgery.Ifthecancerhasnotspreadbeyondthe testicle,thismaybetheonlytreatmentyouwillneed,althoughforafewyearsyouwillhaveto attendthehospitalforregularcheck-ups. Losingonetesticledoesntaffectyourfertility,sincetheremainingtesticlewillcontinuetomake sperm.Yourabilitytohaveanerectionisntaffectedeither.However,ifyouhavebothtesticles removed,youwillbeinfertile. Furthertreatmentfortesticularcancermayinclude: Radiotherapythisinvolvestheuseofx-raystokillcancercells,whiledoingaslittle harmaspossibletothenormalcells.Radiotherapymaybegiventomenwithseminoma, eithertopreventthecancercomingbackaftersurgeryortotreatanycancercellsthat havespreadtothelymphnodesatthebackoftheabdomen.Thistreatmentisgenerally verysuccessfulforseminoma.Radiotherapydoesnotmakeyouradioactivesoitissafefor youtobewithotherpeople,includingchildren,afteryourtreatment. Chemotherapythisinvolvestheuseofanti-cancerdrugstokillcancercells.Thedrugs circulateinthebloodstreamandcanreachcancercellsanywhereinthebody. Chemotherapycanbeusedtotreatmenwithteratoma,eithertopreventthecancer comingbackaftersurgeryortotreatanycancerthathasspreadtothelymphnodes.It canalsobeusedtotreatmenwithseminomaiftherearealotofcancercellsinthenodes atthebackoftheabdomenoriftheseminomahasspreadbeyondtheselymphnodes. Further surgeryifthecancerhasspreadtothelymphnodesatthebackofthe abdomenandremainsafterchemotherapyorradiotherapy,thelymphnodesmaybe surgicallyremoved.Thismaycauseinfertilitybypreventingtheejaculationofsperm throughthepenis.However,sexualfunctionandtheabilitytoorgasmremainintact.

Ifyouneedfurthertreatmentorbothtesticlesremoved,youmaybeabletomakeaspermbank donation.Thiswillgiveyoutheoptiontofatherchildreninthefuture. Self-examination Cancersthatarefoundearlyaretheeasiesttotreat.Menshouldbecomefamiliarwiththeusual leveloflumpinessoftheirtesticlesandseetheirdoctoriftheynoticeachange.Afterawarmbath orshower,whenthescrotalskinisrelaxed,isagoodtimeformentoexaminetheirtesticles.You shouldtrytogetintothehabitofdoingthisregularly. Somemenneedtobeespeciallywatchful.Theyincludemenandboyswithafamilyhistory(father orbrother)oftesticularcancerandmenandboyswhosetestesdidnotdescendnormallywhen theywerebabies. Where to get help Yourdoctor CancerCouncilVictoria,InformationandSupportServiceTel.131120 MultilingualCancerInformationLine,VictoriaseetheCCVwebsiteforcontactdetails

Things to remember

Testicularcancerisnotcommonandmosttesticularlumpsarenotcancer. Menagedbetween25and44yearsaremostatrisk. Earlydiagnosisandtreatmentcancurealmostallcasesoftesticularcancer.

This page has been produced in consultation with, and approved by:

CancerCouncilVictoria

Copyight 1999/2009StateofVictoria.ReproducedfromtheBetterHealthChannel(www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au)at nocostwithpermissionoftheVictorianMinisterforHealth.Unauthorisedreproductionandotherusescomprisedinthe copyrightareprohibitedwithoutpermission. ThisBetterHealthChannelfactsheethaspassedthrougharigorousapprovalprocess.Forthelatestupdatesandmore informationvisitwww.betterhealth.vic.gov.au.

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