Article

TESTICULAR CANCER

By: Dedrick Russell

What you’re about to read will make most men cringe.

It’s a story that contains touchy information that attacks men where it hurts. For men of all walks of life and of virtually every age group the area of the body housing the “family jewels”, as some would call them, is a most treasured and guarded area.

But there is a disease that attacks men in this very prized region. It’s painful issue to talk about and most men either skirt around discussions of this potentially deadly disease or are completely ignorant of it. But we’re going to tackle it head on because this story could save your life. Later on in the story we’re also going to show you ways to check yourself.

Testicular cancer is a somewhat painless disease that can slip up on you. It accounts for one percent of all cancers in men. The American Cancer Society reports that last year about 7,600 men were diagnosed with testicular cancer and 400 men probably died from this silent killer.

As you know that testicles are vital organs that make up part of the male reproductive system. Testicles or testes hang in the scrotum, a sac located right beneath the penis.

They are separated into right and left regions, produce the male hormone, testosterone, and are a passageway by which sperm cells travel in their mission to fertilize the female egg in reproduction.

Have you ever experienced a pain, swelling or hardness in one of your testicles?

Have you had a heaviness in your scrotum or even a slight pain in your groin?

Have you felt a painless lump on your testicle? Or, have you ever awakened in the morning and experienced a tenderness in your breast and wondered what was going on?

Well my brothers, these are symptoms of testicular cancer.

There is no definite way to determine who gets testicular cancer and who doesn’t, but doctors have determined that men between the ages of 15-35 are most at risk.

White men are four times as likely to get diagnosed with testicular cancer than Black men. This can be primarily attributed to the fact that black men aren’t as diligent about seeking regular medical check-ups.

Men who work as miners, oil and gas workers, food and beverage processing workers, leather workers, and utility and janitorial workers are at risk.

Researchers say it could be the high level of chemicals these workers deal with that initiates the development of this type of cancer. Also men with HIV, especially those with the AIDS virus are high at risk as well.

Moreover, men with a history of testicular cancer in their family should be on alert too because their likelihood for development is high.

Most specifically though, doctors point out that those who are the most seriously ar risk are men who have a conditions known as cryptorchidism (pronounced kriptor-chidizm).

This happens during the time the male child is being formed in the womb. While still a fetus, testicles of the male normally form inside the abdomen and descend into the scrotum. But, sometimes during this process the testicles get stuck in the groin area and don’t descend into the sac. Men with this happening to them are more likely to get testicular cancer.

Once cancer is detected, doctors begin chemotherapy and radiation treatments which can wipe out the man’s ability to produce sperm.

In worst case scenarios, doctors may remove the affected testicles altogether in a procedure called an orchiectomy (pro-nounced or kee-ek-to-mee).

I can imagine by now, you are saying that this is some pretty serious stuff!

But all is not lost fellas. You can wipe the sweat from your brow and crawl out from your ball of fear because testicular cancer is highly curable if detected early.

According to the American Cancer Society, although there is no known way to prevent it, the overall cure rate for testicular cancer is 90 percent.

Whew!!!

They also recommend that just as women do monthly self-examinations of their breasts, men do monthly self-examinations of their testicles and surrounding areas.

It could save your life!

Many men are unaware of a cancer that means so much in producing life. That’s why we brothers have to stay on guard and educate each other about this disease that the enemy uses and will continually keep trying to use, along with other sicknesses and diseases, in an attempt to cut us off and to kill our seed.

If you want more information about Testicular Cancer, call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit their website at http://www.cancer.org

For More Information Contact:
Men On A Mission Worldwide Ministries ( MOAM )
P.O. Box 452, Temple Hills, Maryland 20757
Tel:
FAX:
Internet: latimerm@moam.org