It’s Testicular Cancer Awareness Month, Here Are Some Facts to Know

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It’s Testicular Cancer Awareness Month. Are you checking your balls? (Photo Credit: Screenshot from short award-winning video made by the Testicular Cancer Society and Manscaped via Manscaped Official YouTube Channel)

According to the Testicular Cancer Society, around 8,850 men will be diagnosed with testicular cancer each year and with April being Testicular Cancer Awareness Month, it is important to know the facts about this form of cancer.  Found most commonly in men between the ages of 15 and 35, testicular cancer occurs when cancer cells develop in one or both testicles. These cells can grow to become a tumor or a mass. 

Testicular cancer can also be treated successfully, however, as quoted by the Testicular Cancer Society:

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The key is early detection. When testicular cancer is diagnosed in early stages, meaning the cancer is confined to the testis, the 5-year survival rate is 99%. When the cancer has spread to regional lymph nodes the 5-year survival rate drops to 96%. If the cancer has metastasized (spread) to distant areas the 5-year survival rate is 71%.  

In a video from the Johns Hopkins Medicine YouTube Channel, Dr. Phil Pierorazio gives details on the different types of testicular cancer, risk factors, and treatment options.

https://youtu.be/SBGFVRffsVY

Testicular cancer is usually detected by the discovery of a lump on the testicle which is why the Testicular Cancer Society recommends men do a self-exam on their testicles every month.  Instructions on how to do a self-exam can found on the society’s website or by downloading the Ball Checker app on your smartphone.

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Author and playwright Byron Lane, a survivor of testicular cancer, shared on his Twitter account a couple of posts on testicular cancer.

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Lane also wrote, produced, and directed a web series inspired by his own fight with testicular cancer called Last Will and Testicle. Lane himself plays the lead character with Beth Grant, Jonathan Van Ness, his husband Steven Rowley, and many others also appear in the series. The trailers for both seasons are below.

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More information on testicular cancer can found on the Testicular Cancer Society website.


Sources: Testicular Cancer Society, Johns Hopkins Medicine YouTube Channel, Last Will and Testicle Official Website, Byron Lane YouTube Channel, Byron Lane Twitter Account,

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