Supporting Testicular Cancer Awareness Month

This April it’s testicular cancer awareness month and as a dental practice that cares about our patients’ overall health and wellbeing (as well as being regular supporters of Movember) we thought we’d do our bit to help educate and inform our patients about testicular cancer.Young men are more likely to get testicular cancer than any other, with the rates of being diagnosed doubling in the past 50 years. This is why awareness is so key. Detecting the cancer at an early stage is essential for early treatment and this is why a self-examination (or as the Movember Foundation call it ‘Knowing thy Nuts’) is the most important course of action.Here are some of the key facts for you:

• Approximately 1 in 250 men will be diagnosed with testicular cancer.
• Thanks to early detection and advanced treatments, only approximately 1 in 5000 men will die from testicular cancer.
• Testicular cancer can develop in one or both testicles. Most tumors are metastatic, meaning they have the ability to spread to other organs, such as the lymph system, lungs and brain, leading to serious illness or death.
• Testicular cancer is rare, accounting for about 1% of all male cancers. However, testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer in men ages 15-35.
• Men themselves, not doctors, find most testicular cancers as a painless lump or an enlargement or hardening of the testicle, this is why regular self-exams are so important. If you do notice any lumps or changes it is important to see a doctor immediately. Many men with testicular cancer do not feel ill and many times there is no pain involved.
• Testicular cancer is one of the most treatable cancers, especially if caught early. If caught at an early stage, before it has spread, the survival rate is almost 100% - but if caught at a late stage the rate drops to 74%.

So to conclude, testicular cancer is a highly treatable cancer and can be effectively treated, and often cured, if diagnosed and treated early. You can find Movember’s guide on the best way to perform a self-examination here.Thank you to all of you over the year’s who have supported and sponsored Dr Fox each Movember. Rest assured, once November comes around the ‘tache will be making a comeback.