A quick feel can save your bacon
MEN would rather vacuum than do a quick lifesaving self-examination.
Researchers found that only one in three blokes bothers to check their testicles once a month for early signs of cancer.
But double that amount give their homes a good clean in that time, a study for male cancer charity Orchid found.
Prof Thomas Powles, from Barts Cancer Institute in London, said: “The most important advice we give is for men to do a regular testicular self-examination.
“Over 2,300 men will be diagnosed with testicular cancer this year. Around half will be under the age of 35 – and 60 men will die from it each year.
“The good news is it’s very treatable if it is caught early, with a cure rate of 98 per cent.”
Matt Truscott, 26, found a lump in his right testicle almost two years ago. He had a dull ache a few days before but thought he just had a strain.
He said: “I was on holiday when I first noticed something wasn’t right in my groin area.
“I checked my testicle and it was swollen. It was very firm to the touch, like a peach stone rather than being slightly squishy.
“The next day, the aching was even affecting my walking.”
At A&E, a doctor said it might be an infection and gave him antibiotics. But days later his testicle increased in size again.
Matt went to see his GP, who sent him for an ultrasound scan. It showed an aggressive tumour on his testicle. He was booked in for surgery two days later.
He recalled: “Being diagnosed at 24 was scary. I’d no idea what my prospects were or that it could even happen to people my age.” Matt, a research engineer, says it was hard to overcome the initial embarrassment of seeing a doctor about the lump.
“But I knew I needed to see a 1 Check after a shower. 2 Roll between the thumb and forefinger. 3 Get to know the epididymis tube behind the testicle that stores sperm. It can be mistaken for a growth. one sooner rather than later and not ignore it,” he said.
Testicular cancer is most common in men aged 15 to 45. But unlike some other cancers it is not clearly linked to any preventable risk factors. Before his treatment Matt was advised to bank some of his sperm in case he wanted children in the future. Chemotherapy might make him infertile.
Only nine days after finding the lump he had his right testicle removed and a prosthetic one put in its place.
A CT scan revealed the cancer had not spread. But because there was a high chance of it returning he was put on a nineweek cycle of chemo. It meant there was less than a 4 per cent chance of it returning.
Matt, from Harrogate, North Yorks, said: “After two weeks of treatment, my hair started falling out so I shaved it all off. Losing my hair did hit my confidence.”
Happily, his treatment ended in December 2015.
He said: “Everything is now fine. I still have regular hospital check-ups and regularly check myself. And I spread the word that all men should too.”