Young Men At Highest Risk For Testicular Cancer
Doctor Urges Teenagers To Conduct Self-Exams
UPDATED: 1:40 p.m. EST February 4, 2004
PITTSBURGH -- For years, young women have been taught about breast self-exams, but young men are not being told about an exam they should be doing.
Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men between the ages of 15 and 35, and if caught early, it's almost 100 percent curable.
But many parents don't realize they need to make their young teens aware of the danger.
Five-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was only 25 when he was diagnosed testicular cancer. By then, it had spread to his lungs and brain. Fortunately, aggressive chemotherapy has cured him.
Pittsburgh resident Dean Leech may not be as well-known, but he's just as familiar with the disease. He was diagnosed with it at the age of 32.
"It was purely by accident. In the shower, I noticed there was something unusual. I'd purchased the Lance Armstrong book. I started reading it and pretty much knew what was going on," Leech said.
Within a week, his cancerous testicle was removed.
According to Dr. Ron Hrenbko, a urologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, removal is almost always unavoidable.
"If someone comes in, even with a pea-sized mass in the testis -- part of the testicle, the part where the sperm is made -- it's assumed to be testis cancer and that testicle really needs to be removed," he said.
Because the peak number of cases of testicular cancer occurs in the late teens, doctors said once boys hit puberty, they should be examining themselves once a week.
"If they get an idea of what normal feels like, when they do develop what is usually a painless firm lump they'll know the difference between that and normal," Hrenbko said.
Besides a lump, other warning signs of testicular cancer include any enlargement or shrinking of a testicle, heaviness in the scrotum, or dull ache in the lower abdomen or groin.
"Every teenager should be testing themselves," Leech said.
It's something he said he'll teach his own son becomes a teen. Until then, he feels pretty lucky his cancer was caught so early.
"You know, every day I look at my son, it makes very happy," Leech said.
But many parents don't realize they need to make their young teens aware of the danger.
Five-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was only 25 when he was diagnosed testicular cancer. By then, it had spread to his lungs and brain. Fortunately, aggressive chemotherapy has cured him.
Pittsburgh resident Dean Leech may not be as well-known, but he's just as familiar with the disease. He was diagnosed with it at the age of 32.
"It was purely by accident. In the shower, I noticed there was something unusual. I'd purchased the Lance Armstrong book. I started reading it and pretty much knew what was going on," Leech said.
Within a week, his cancerous testicle was removed.
According to Dr. Ron Hrenbko, a urologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, removal is almost always unavoidable.
"If someone comes in, even with a pea-sized mass in the testis -- part of the testicle, the part where the sperm is made -- it's assumed to be testis cancer and that testicle really needs to be removed," he said.
Because the peak number of cases of testicular cancer occurs in the late teens, doctors said once boys hit puberty, they should be examining themselves once a week.
"If they get an idea of what normal feels like, when they do develop what is usually a painless firm lump they'll know the difference between that and normal," Hrenbko said.
Besides a lump, other warning signs of testicular cancer include any enlargement or shrinking of a testicle, heaviness in the scrotum, or dull ache in the lower abdomen or groin.
"Every teenager should be testing themselves," Leech said.
It's something he said he'll teach his own son becomes a teen. Until then, he feels pretty lucky his cancer was caught so early.
"You know, every day I look at my son, it makes very happy," Leech said.
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