Earlier this week we announced the beginning of Men’s Health Week both here in Australia and around the world.
The week is all about highlighting the importance of getting men talking about their health and being proactive towards health issues they may face.
One particular and major health issue many men face is testicular cancer. It is the second most common cancer in young men in Australia (aged 18-39) and the rate of men being diagnosed with the cancer has grown by more than 50% in the past 30 years, with no known cause of this rise in numbers.
Currently the five-year survival rate for testicular cancer is 98%.
Testicular cancer may show no symptoms in some cases. The common symptoms that can show are painless swelling or a lump in the testicle.
Less common symptoms include:
• feeling of heaviness in the scrotum
• swelling or lump in the testicle
• change in the size or shape of the testicle
• feeling of unevenness
• pain or ache in the lower abdomen, the testicle or scrotum
• back pain
• enlargement or tenderness of the breast tissue (due to hormones created by cancer cells).
There is no exact known cause of testicular cancer but there are some factors that can increase the risk of being diagnosed with testicular cancer, these are:
• undescended testicle (when an infant)
• family history (having a father or brother who has had testicular cancer).
For further details of testicular cancer and how you or someone you know can be better informed, click here.