The number of new cases of testicular cancer has increased in the past few decades. Early diagnosis offers a chance for more effective treatment. In Poland, patients still go through a long diagnostic path, and the waiting time often reaches many months. Testicular cancer, although rare (in Poland about 5 cases per 100), is the most common cancer in the group of young patients aged 20 to 40 years. We advise which symptoms should be given special attention. And we encourage you to self-examine your testicles. This can save lives in many cases.
Increased temperature, lack of appetite and pain in the lumbar region do not always indicate infections, inflammations or spine ailments. If symptoms persist for a long time, it is worth consulting a doctor. Below are symptoms that you should pay special attention to:
– Coughing, shortness of breath and hemoptysis are very characteristic symptoms that indicate many ailments, including cancer. Oncological vigilance in this case is recommended.
– Gynecomastia, or enlargement of the mammary gland, is often associated with testicular cancer. This symptom cannot be ignored. Clinically, testicular tumor and gynecomastia are found in approximately 25% of patients. patients, often even before the testicular tumor is palpable.
– Decreased sex drive is a symptom that is difficult to grasp and can be a sign of a variety of conditions, such as depression, as well as low testosterone levels.
– Hardening within the testicle, which until now was soft and bouncy, is easy to observe, but requires commitment and regular self-examination.
– A palpable unevenness or a painless lump in the testicle, as well as hardening in the testicle, a man can easily see for himself. This is another reason that should prompt men to self-examination. You can also ask your partner for help.
– Swelling, build-up of fluid within the scrotum, or a feeling of heaviness is a common symptom, yet it escapes the attention of men. So is distress or discomfort within the testicle. It is worth taking a good look at your testicles and performing ultrasound of both testicles and the abdominal cavity.
– An asymmetric or small, hypoplastic nucleus is an alarm signal. Particularly disturbing is the situation when there is a change in the size of the testicle – if the testicle has increased or, conversely, decreased.
– Infertility should also lead to regular check-ups. Neoplasm develops more frequently in the testicle with genetic disorders associated with impaired spermatogenesis.
– Congenital disorder of testicular development, underdevelopment of the testicles, their failure to descend into the scrotum require oncological vigilance. In the group of patients with undescended testis (cryptorchidism), testicular cancer develops 40 times more often.
– A seizure may be the first sign of testicular cancer. It may indicate that brain metastases have already occurred. It is estimated that about 15-20 percent. patients, the first symptoms of the disease come from metastatic foci, e.g. in the lymph nodes of the abdominal cavity and in the lungs.
Testicular cancer may not cause noticeable changes in the scrotum, so it is worth consulting a doctor about any abdominal discomfort, perineal discomfort and pain in the lumbar region. The appearance of coughing, haemoptysis and shortness of breath in young men should also prompt the diagnosis of testicular cancer. The disease detected at an early stage is completely curable. So let’s take matters into your own hands.