Testicular Cancer – Health Screening

Also called: Screening tests

Screenings are tests that look for diseases before you have symptoms. Screening tests can find diseases early, when they’re easier to treat. You can get some screenings in your doctor’s office. Others need special equipment, so you may need to go to a different office or clinic.

Some conditions that doctors commonly screen for include

• Breast cancer and cervical cancer in women
• Colorectal cancer
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Osteoporosis
• Overweight and obesity
• Prostate cancer in men

Which tests you need depends on your age, your sex, your family history, and whether you have risk factors for certain diseases. After a screening test, ask when you will get the results and whom to talk to about them.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Testicles, or testes, make male hormones and sperm. They are two egg-shaped organs inside the scrotum, the loose sac of skin behind the penis. You can get cancer in one or both testicles.

Testicular cancer mainly affects young men between the ages of 20 and 39. It is also more common in men who

• Have had abnormal testicle development
• Have had an undescended testicle
• Have a family history of the cancer

Symptoms include pain, swelling, or lumps in your testicles or groin area. Doctors use a physical exam, lab tests, imaging tests, and a biopsy to diagnose testicular cancer. Most cases can be treated, especially if found early. Treatment options include surgery, radiation, and/or chemotherapy. Regular exams after treatment are important.

Treatments may also cause infertility. If you may want children later on, you should consider sperm banking before treatment.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

• Testicle lump (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Testicular biopsy (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Testicular cancer (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Testicular self-examination (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Understanding Chemotherapy – NIH – Easy-to-Read (National Cancer Institute) – PDF
• What to Know about External Beam Radiation Therapy – NIH – Easy-to-Read (National Cancer Institute) – PDF