Testicular cancer: facts & fiction

Posted on 19 November 2015

Between the Movember messaging, yellow wristbands and old wives’ tales, there’s a lot of information doing the rounds about testicular cancer. Not all of it is accurate, though. We spoke to a Mediclinic urologist to separate the facts from fiction.

FICTION: It’s an old man’s disease.
FACT: Actually, it’s most common among younger guys. ‘The peak age group for testicular cancer is between 25 and 35 years of age,’ confirms Dr Werner Pakendorf, a urologist at Mediclinic Nelspruit. ‘Relative to most other cancers, that’s quite young.’ It’s important to note, however, that although that’s the peak age, testicular cancer can affect men at any age.

FICTION: It’s a death sentence.
FACT: Not at all. Testicular cancer is, in fact, one of the most easily treatable and curable cancers. The American National Cancer Institute puts the five-year relative survival rate for men with testicular cancer at about 95%. To avoid being in the unlucky 5%, go for regular check-ups to ensure early detection.

FICTION: It’s tough to detect.
FACT: The signs are there… if you know what to look for. ‘Testicular cancer patients usually present with either a lump in the testicle, or symptoms where one testicle feels “heavier” than the other one, or they experience a bit of pain,’ says Dr Pakendorf. ‘There might also be blood in the ejaculation. But for most men, it’s basically a small lump.’ If you feel a lump, go see a doctor.

FICTION: It’s the most common cancer among men.
FACT: Nope, that would be prostate cancer. According to South Africa’s 2010 National Cancer registry, the lifetime risk for prostate cancer in men is one in 27. For testicular cancer, that lifetime risk is one in 2 040. That’s a huge difference. So while testicular cancer gets the high-profile ambassadors and the Movember awareness campaigns, the truth is your risk is relatively low. It’s not zero, but it’s not as high as you might think.

FICTION: It’ll end your sex life.
FACT: It doesn’t have to. In most testicular cancer cases, only one testicle is removed – so you’ve still got a backup. In most of those cases, your fertility and sex drive shouldn’t be noticeably affected. If both testicles are removed, that’s a different story: you will be sterile and you’re more likely to lose your sex drive.

FICTION: Your risk increases if you get kicked in the nuts.
FACT: Look, that’ll hurt… but it won’t give you cancer. ‘The only real factor that has been proven to increase your risk of testicular cancer is if you’ve had an undescended testicle that was operated on,’ says Dr Pakendorf. ‘But apart from that, it’s mostly a genetic abnormality. It’s not something that you inherit from your parents; it’s just a random gene you have that’s abnormal.’

FICTION: Your risk increases if you wear briefs.
FACT: ‘Not in terms of testes cancer,’ says Dr Pakendorf. So don’t stress about your tighty whiteys. ‘Look, that issue is more pertinent when you deal with patients who experience infertility,’ Dr Pakendorf explains, ‘but even then, there are so many other factors that play a role. For example, if you smoke and wear briefs, it’s better that you stop smoking! But even then… that’s splitting hairs. For testicular cancer, no: the boxers/briefs debate doesn’t play a role.’

The information provided in this article was correct at the time of publishing. At Mediclinic we endeavour to provide our patients and readers with accurate and reliable information, which is why we continually review and update our content. However, due to the dynamic nature of clinical information and medicine, some information may from time to time become outdated prior to revision.