How to check

Information saves lives

The testicles are a pair of male sex glands located in the scrotum (the scrotum), which is just below the penis on the outside of the body. The testicles produce the male sex cells sperm and the male sex hormone testosterone. Testicular cancer is not a common disease, but it is the most common oncological disease affecting young men. The most important fact about testicular cancer is that more than 98% of men who develop testicular cancer recover. If every man developed the habit of monthly self-examination, we could further increase the number of men cured.

Testicular self-examination and why do I need it?

Men themselves can detect abnormalities in the testicles if they perform regular testicular self-examination. Testicular self-examination should be a habit that starts as early as adolescence. It is a procedure that takes only a few minutes and should be done once a month. Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men aged 25-49 (but it also occurs in younger and older men).

Regular testicular self-examination gives a young man or woman an idea of what a healthy testicle looks like, so they can easily see if there are any changes. It is best to do the self-examination immediately after a bath or shower, when the scrotum has relaxed from the heat - it is easy to feel the testicles then. It is recommended to feel both testicles at the same time, gently rolling them between the thumb and other fingers of the hand - the consistency of healthy testicles is firm and the surface is slippery and smooth. It is normal for one testicle to be slightly larger than the other and to lie slightly lower than the other.

How to check

Check your testicles at least once a month
Perform the test in the shower.
Soap yourself up.
Check one testicle at the time.
Gently roll it between the fingers.
Feel up the spermatic cords on the back side of testicles.
Look for hards lumps, smooth or rounded bumps...
changes in size, shape or consistency...
...or any painful areas.

How to investigate?

Take your testicles in your hands so that your thumb and fingers have a good feel of all sides of the testicle;
lightly pressing on the scrotum to feel the organs in the scrotum;
first feel the appendix, which is located at the top of the testicle. It feels like an elongated slippery cartilage;
next, find the seminal vesicle, which rises upwards from the testicle and feels like a rigid, smooth tube;
finally, the testicle itself is felt, which is moderately hard, smooth-surfaced and ovoid;
both testicles are thus examined. If you find any abnormalities (lumps, hardening, enlargement of the testicle, etc.) or suspect anything, make sure you contact a doctor, preferably a urologist;

Seek immediate medical attention if you feel a lump in the testicle or an enlarged, swollen testicle, if fluid accumulates, or if you feel heaviness, soreness or any other unusual sensation in the scrotum. Only ten per cent of men diagnosed with testicular cancer had a painful nodule in the testicle.

Symptoms can arise for many reasons, most often not due to a malignant process. However, in every case, even if the enlarged testicle is painless, the patient should be examined by a urologist. It should be remembered that testicular cancer is now almost always a curable disease, especially if detected in the early stages, and that later stages of the disease are often treated successfully. Treatment of the disease does not reduce sexual potency, and in most cases the possibility of having children remains.

You know your body better than anyone. If something feels off, get checked.

Early diagnosis means a better chance of successful treatment, faster and easier treatment.

It should be remembered that testicular cancer is now almost always a curable disease, especially if detected in the early stages, and later stages are often treated successfully.

Regular testicular self-examination gives a young man or woman an idea of what a healthy testicle looks like, so he or she can easily see if there are any changes.

Did you find any changes