Testicular Cancer

The testicles (or testis) are two small oval shaped organs (commonly called the balls) that are held inside the sac of skin called the scrotum. The testicles are part of the male reproductive system and their main roles are to make male hormones such as testosterone and also to make sperm that can fertilise the female egg. As opposed to most cancers, testicular cancer occurs more often in younger men than in older. Testicular cancer is quite rare and we don´t know exactly what causes the majority of these cancers. There are various risk factors, one being family history. However the majority of men who develop testicular cancer have not had a family history of it. Another risk factor is a condition where testicles in a baby has not moved from the belly down into the scrotum — as they should do - before birth. Testicular cancer can develop in one or in both testicles and there are different types depending on which type of testicular cells the cancer developed from. There are very effective treatments for testicular cancer. Read below if you want to find out more.

To help you find reliable information, we have linked to Maggie’s CancerLinks where you will be signposted to high quality information about testicular cancer. The information on these websites is not written specifically for young people but it is written using simple language in a way that most people will be able to understand. Don’t worry if there are lots of links to different websites. Have a look on the description of the links and very often you will find the information you are searching for on the first website that you look at. If you just want general information about cancer you could read the ‘About cancer’ section on riprap.

Remember that the information on these sites is general. Within each cancer type, there are different variations, different stages, different treatments and people may also respond differently to the same treatments. Each person is an individual and because of this, generic information may not fit the situation you are thinking of. Often your parents or someone else who knows the details can answer your questions best. Also, please feel free to get in touch with us here at riprap. We can help you sorting through information or discuss things you’ve heard or read or anything at all that’s on your mind.

Don’t forget that there are lots of effective treatments for cancer these days and many cancers can be completely cured. There are also very good treatments to control cancers that cannot be cured and research is going on all the time to find new treatments that can control and cure cancers.

Page updated 13 July 2017