Testicular Cancer
What
is Testicular cancer?
Testicular cancer is the most common cancer
in men ages 20 to 34 years old. It is a disease in
which cancer forms in one or both testicles. The testicles are 2
egg-shaped glands inside the
scrotum (a sac of loose skin that lies directly below the penis). They are
the male sex glands that
make testosterone and sperm.
Risk Factors:
There are factors that raise a man’s risk of getting this disease:
An undescended testicle. One or both testicles don’t move from the abdomen
to the scrotum.
Young age. Young men have a higher risk of getting testicular cancer. It
is the most common
cancer between the ages of 20 to 34, the second most common cancer between
the ages of 35
to 39, and the third most common cancer between the ages of 15 to 19.
A personal history of testicular cancer. Men who already had testicular
cancer have a higher risk
of developing a tumor in the other testicle.
A family history of testicular cancer. Men with a family history of
testicular cancer may have a
higher risk of developing testicular cancer.
Klinefelter's syndrome. This is a genetic disorder in males caused by
having an extra X
chromosome.
Race.
Testicular cancer is more common among White men. .
Treatment:
Testicular
cancers can be treated with surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
The doctor
may use one method or a combination of methods. Often, the patient is
referred to medical
centers that specialize in testicular cancer treatment. Surgery In most
cases, surgery is done to
remove the testicle. Sometimes, it may also be necessary to remove lymph
nodes in the abdomen.
In addition, tumors that may have spread to other parts of the body may be
partly or entirely
removed by surgery. Radiation Therapy In radiation therapy (also called
x-ray therapy,
radiotherapy, cobalt treatment or irradiation), high-energy rays are used
to damage cancer cells
and stop their growth. Like surgery, radiation therapy is a local
treatment; it affects only the cells
in the treated area. Patients usually receive radiation therapy in an
outpatient clinic. Seminomas
are highly sensitive to radiation. Following surgery, men with seminomas
generally have radiation
therapy to their abdominal lymph nodes. Nonseminomas are not sensitive to
radiation. Patients
with this type of cancer need other types of treatment. Chemotherapy The
use of drugs to treat
cancer is called chemotherapy. Anticancer drugs are recommended when there
are signs that the
cancer has spread. Also, chemotherapy is sometimes used if the doctor
suspects that undetected
cancer cells may remain in the body after surgery or radiation. The use of
anticancer drugs
following surgery for an early stage of cancer is known as adjuvant
therapy..
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