AFTER A trauma, a man may notice a testicular tumour and erroneously associate the episode of trauma to a diagnosis of cancer. However, health experts say that the cause of cancer of the testes (or testicular cancer) has not been identified but trauma is not likely to be the cause.
Doctors say that some men are at higher risk for this cancer, if they have had a past medical history of undescended testicles, an inflammation of the testis linked to mumps (called mumps orchitis), an inguinal hernia or a history of testicular cancer.
Cancer of the testes is the most common form of cancer in men 20 to 35 years old but it may also occur in young boys. The cancer is more likely to occur in the right testicle.
Symptoms of testicular cancer include a lump in the testicle, an enlargement of the testicle, breast enlargement (gynaecomastia), blood in the semen, back pain and abdominal discomfort. The affected testicle may be painful (but this is rare) and sometimes the patient may have no symptoms.
Prevention of this cancer includes immunisation against mumps (to stave off the development of inflammation of the testicle) and testicular self-examination (TSE). A TSE should be performed monthly to detect early signs of a tumour. Treatment will include surgery to remove the affected testicle and lymph nodes, radiation therapy and chemotherapy, depending on the type of tumour and the stage of the disease.
