Testicular Cancer Specialist

What is testicular cancer?

Testicular cancer affects your testicles, where your body makes the male sex hormone testosterone and produces sperm. Although testicular cancer is uncommon in comparison with other types, it’s the most common cancer diagnosis in young men between 15 and 34.

Testicular cancer develops when the healthy cells in a testicle change and start to divide and grow out of control. It’s usually the germ cells, the ones which produce sperm, that become cancerous, but it’s not clear why. The overgrowth of abnormal cells becomes a lump or tumor, and the cancer can spread to other parts of your body.

There are several risk factors that increase your chances of developing testicular cancer, including having an undescended testicle, abnormal testicle development, and a family history of testicular cancer.

You can’t prevent testicular cancer, but the good news is that it’s curable, even if the cancer has spread.

What are the symptoms of testicular cancer?

• Lump in either testicle
• Heaviness in the scrotum
• Dull groin pain
• Fluid in the scrotum
• Pain in a testicle
• Painful scrotum
• Breast pain
• Back pain

Testicular cancer usually only affects one testicle.

How is testicular cancer treated?

The primary treatment of testicular cancer is the removal of the affected testicle. This is a highly effective approach, and if you have the surgery when the cancer is still in its early stages, you may not need any other treatment.

Your surgeon at Wellness Oncology & Hematology removes the cancerous testicle through an incision in your groin, leaving the scrotum intact. You can have a saline-filled artificial testicle put in to replace your testicle if you wish.

If you have later-stage testicular cancer, you’ll need radiation therapy, which uses X-rays to kill cancer cells, or chemotherapy, which uses drugs to kill cancer cells.

These treatments can affect fertility, and chemotherapy could leave you infertile. So it’s vital to discuss methods of preserving your sperm for the future with your team at Wellness Oncology & Hematology. Dr. Shaye, Dr. Lashkari, and Dr. Ho discuss all possible options available for successful treatment of testicular cancer, which in many cases, they can cure.

To book a testicular exam or discuss any concerns you have about testicular cancer, call Wellness Oncology & Hematology today or book an appointment using the online tool.