What is Testicular Cancer?
Testicular cancer occurs when abnormal cells in a testicle, part of the male reproductive system, start to divide and grow in an uncontrolled way. Testicular cancer can affect anyone with testicles including transgender women, and anyone assigned male at birth.
Testicular cancer is an overarching term for cancer which starts in the testicles. Most testicular cancers develop from germ cells in the testicles and you may hear the terminology germ cell tumours (GCTs).
There are 2 main types of testicular germ cell tumours, seminomas and non-seminomas. There are other rare types of testicular cancer called Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Leydig cell tumours and Sertoli cell tumours.
Symptoms of Testicular Cancer
The most common symptom of testicular cancer is a lump or swelling in your testicle.
Symptoms may include:
- a lump or swelling in a part of one testicle
- a testicle that gets bigger
- a heavy scrotum
- discomfort or pain in your testicle or scrotum
These symptoms can be similar to other conditions that affect the testicles, such as infections, however, if you have any of the above symptoms it’s best to get checked out by your GP.
Treatment Options
Your consultant will discuss treatment options with you, however, surgery to remove your testicle is usually the first treatment. After surgery, further treatment such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy may be required.
How to check your testicles
Macmillan Cancer Support provides an easy read booklet on how to easily check your testicles (pdf).