By Dr. Kevin Wang
A monthly testicular exam?
For the past two columns, I've focused on female health. Now it's time to focus on a group I especially like … men! And this month, I'd like to talk about testicles.
That's right, men! I'm going to talk about how important it is to feel yourself up so here's another reason to drop your shorts and grope around. There are other reasons, of course, but this is a good one.
Before I go into how to check for testicular cancer, let's talk about who's at risk for developing it and some other facts.
Believe it or not, testicular cancer is the most common cancer in males between the ages of 15 and 35. In the U.S. alone, there are about 8,000 new cases of it every year with 400 deaths caused by it. Now most of the people who develop testicular cancer have had conditions that predispose them to developing it Ð a condition known as cryptorchidism where one or both testes end up remaining in the belly, a family history of testicular cancer, HIV infection or having preexisting nodules (small bumps) on the testicle.
The way these tumors present is as a nodule or painless swelling of one testicle. If one misses these symptoms, you may end up seeing signs of spreading of this tumor Ð neck mass, unexplained loss of weight, vomiting, back pain, spinal cord involvement or one-sided extremity swelling.
Now with all this good news, why would I be writing a column about this? Well, as I wrote in my last two columns, it's just as important for a man to check his testicles monthly as it is for a woman to get a yearly Pap smear and to perform a monthly breast exam. So as I explained in the last column on how to perform a breast exam, let me explain how to perform a testicular exam.
Examination of the testicle should be done with both hands. This lets you appreciate the size, shape and texture of the testicle. You should place the testicle between the thumb and the first two fingers of the examining hand (most often your dominant hand). A normal testicle is should be smooth, freely movable and separable from a separate piece of tissue known as the epididymis (a piece of tissue just above the testicle). Now these exams should be done on the same day of every month. The first few months might seem strange (or then again, maybe not) but it's a good way to get to know your testicle and to know the normal anatomy of your testicle.
However, anything that is firm, hard or not movable should be considered suspicious. What should you do at that point? Well, my favorite saying of course: Go see your doctor! The bump or lump, be it painful or painless, may be an infection, small cyst, a small calcification or in the worst case, a tumor. All these things can be caught early if you do these exams yourself (or have your partner do them for a bit of extra fun) and if you have an annual physical every year to have your doctor check it out.
That's the end of this month's column for male health. Next month, I'll be talking about the dreaded (or maybe not so dreaded) prostate exam. And don't forget, if you have any questions, comments or advice for our readers, please feel free to contact me. I hope this month's column finds all of you in good health and spirits. Stay healthy!
