Let’s end the month with testicular cancer awareness
Today, is April 30th. April is recognised as testicular cancer awareness month. During this period, the World Health Organisation (WHO) commemorates the burden of the disease worldwide and, of course, the initiatives being taken to combat it.
It may seem a little bit late to write about this, since it’s the final day of the month. But I really don’t think so. As we know it is better late than never. Testicular cancer is real. Even as statistics show the disease is very rare in Tanzania compared to other forms of cancer, we still have the reasons to remain vigilant.
However, it’s not guaranteed that we will be cancer free forever, that’s why it’s always recommended to be aware about cancer. Especially for men, when it comes to testicular cancer.
The cancer of the testes a malignancy that involves the growth of abnormal cells in the testes. The growth of these malignant cells occurs very slowly and at times it may be hard for a man to spot any abnormal changes that appear in his testicles.
I therefore urge men to never get fooled; but rather check their ‘nuts’ more often. Doing frequent self-examination at least twice a week may help. And doing testicle self-exam can be easy as a,b,c…… and here is my advice on how men can perform their testicular breast exam:
Hold ach testicle one after another at least for two minutes or more between your thumb and fingers and roll it (with slight pressure) between your fingers. If you find any kind of unfamiliar changes like hard lumps, smooth or rounded bumps changes in size, shape or consistency however don’t panic, see your doctor immediately. Sometimes it might be due to other little medical conditions.
However, it is always wise to be familiar with your testicles. Sometimes it might be confusing to know whether the symptoms a man is going through are due to other medical conditions or testicular cancer.
Therefore, if you see a painless lump in either testicle, a feeling of heaviness in the scrotum, a dull ache in the abdomen or groin, a collection of fluid in the scrotum and sometimes back pain. If you notice these symptoms and especially if they have been persistent, please seek immediate medical attention. They could obviously be testicular cancer symptoms.
What are the causes?
The exact cause of testicular cancer still remains unclear and we are yet to know what leads to the growth of cells in the testicles.
However, there are variety of risk factors that may lead a man to fall into testicular cancer, and some of them are family history, if your family members have had a testicular cancer, then you are at increased risk. Age is also risk factor. Testicular cancer rarely affects young men. Due to biological factors, risks are high as a man gets older.
Prevention
When it comes to how we can prevent testicular cancer, men are always recommended to do self-testicular exam frequently. That’s the only way they can detect the disease at its initial stages and that’s when they can successfully be cured.
