Testicular cancer doesn’t mean an end to your sex life or manhood!

“Testicular cancer strikes an organ closely linked to a man’s sense of masculinity, sexuality and body image and at a time when these are often still developing,” says Sam Gledhill, Movember’s Global Director, Testicular Cancer.

“With good support however, these hurdles can be overcome and generally, testicular cancer survivors report a good quality of life after treatment.”

The majority of men treated for testicular cancer can go on to father children after their treatment.

“It is vitally important though that if you are faced with treatment for testicular cancer, you have a conversation with your doctor about banking sperm. It’s not for everybody and it’s not necessary for everybody who is being treated, but you most certainly need to discuss it with your doctor,” says Gledhill, who oversees and manages the foundation’s testicular cancer research, survivorship support and clinical quality initiatives.

According to globalmd.org, “losing a testicle won’t make you sterile or interfere with your ability to have sexual intercourse. The remaining healthy testicle can maintain your normal sexual and hormonal functions.

“Removal of both testicles results in infertility. But you can take male hormones to keep your sexual function essentially normal.”

Denial and embarrassment contribute to testicular cancer being one of the least mentioned cancers.