If you suspect that you have testicular cancer, schedule an appointment with your health care provider. Most people do not look at their testicles too closely, and they therefore don’t notice any change. However, cancer is curable with timely treatment. In some cases, chemotherapy can even cure it. Here are some tips to help you find out if your cancer is curable. Also, remember that timing is everything. If you are diagnosed early enough, you can expect to live a long, healthy life.
A doctor can diagnose testicular cancer by performing a physical exam. During the exam, your health-care provider can detect lumps or other symptoms of the disease. If the cancer has spread to nearby organs, ultrasound may help. A doctor can also do a testicular ultrasound to look for any abnormalities. The ultrasound uses high-energy sound waves to create pictures of tissues. Your health care provider may recommend an inguinal orchiectomy to remove the affected testicle. The specialist will examine the tissue to find out whether it is cancerous.
Testicular cancer is often curable if the remaining testicle continues to produce sperm. Approximately 25% of people with testicular cancer are infertile before their diagnosis. This may be due to the cancer itself or to the reason for the infertility. After testicular cancer is removed, sperm counts usually increase significantly. However, some patients may be infertile before the cancer is diagnosed.
Although testicular cancer is a serious disease, it is curable in most cases. In stage 0 or stage 1, it is highly treatable, and you have a 99% chance of survival. A doctor may perform a radical inguinal orchiectomy for testicular cancer and may also prescribe chemotherapy. In advanced stages, cancer may recur. The only way to avoid this is to perform regular self-exams to monitor changes.
After the diagnosis, nearly all men with testicular cancer will undergo an orchiectomy. Depending on the cancer stage, your doctor may opt to closely monitor you for years. Surveillance will help detect relapses early and help you avoid unnecessary surgery. In addition to testicular cancer treatment, your doctor may also recommend chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Although these methods aren’t effective for all patients, they do help greatly.
If you’re interested in having a child, you may want to consider sperm extraction from your urine. This will allow you to have the child of your dreams. If this is not an option, you can consider other options to help you conceive. Infertility and retrograde ejaculation are often risks of treatment with chemotherapy and surgery. You can still use artificial sperm to conceive.
Fortunately, testicular cancer can be treated successfully when caught early. The good news is that 90% of all cases are curable. In most cases, the cancer in the testicles is curable and can even spread to other parts of the body. Moreover, it is one of the most treatable cancers in young men. If you suspect that you might be suffering from testicular cancer, schedule an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible.
