Testicular Cancer

The Problem

Testicular cancer, though the most common cancer in young men, is rare. Overall there are around 2,000 cases diagnosed each year in the UK. The highest at risk age group is between 18-32 years old. Between the age of 15 and 50 about 1in 500 develop this problem all though there has been an 84% rise in incidence of testicular cancer in Britain since the late 1970s and this rate is still increasing. As testicular cancer can usually be successfully treated, mortality is very low. Advances in the treatment of testicular cancer has led to a fall in UK mortality rates since the late 1970s, the mortality rate is now only 0.3 per 100,000.

In more than one third of cases of testicular cancer has already spread by the time of diagnosis. Despite this, today more than 95% of patients are cured, albeit many needing toxic drug treatment (chemotherapy). If caught at an early stage, the treatment is much more simple and may only require surgery to the diseased testicle and cure at this stage is more than 99%.

Surveys suggest that many men are unaware of testicular cancer or prefer to ignore it and only 5% of men regularly check their testicles. A simple regular self-examination is now known to help detect the early signs and reduce the amount of treatment needed.