November 1999 Testicular Cancer by Dr. Rob Hicks Testicular cancer is the commonest cancer that affects young men. It's also one of the most curable cancers when detected early - with the majority of men who have treatment making a full recovery. Testicular cancer affects one in 450 men and is most common between age 19-44. The number of cases has doubled in the past 20 years and each year in the UK there are around 1500 new ones. Its cause is not known, but men who have had undescended testicles and those with a close male relative who had testicular cancer are more at risk of developing it.
Early detection means it's curable, so self-examination needs to be a monthly routine.
Robbie Williams does it and so should every man. Some say they're embarrassed, some are frightened of finding anything wrong. Others remember sporting days where any testicular contact was associated with excruciating pain and believe quite wrongly that self-examination will be painful. Some men leave it to their partners to take the responsibility. Often it's a woman who discovers the problem and sends her man to the doctor.