Seeing that we are a company that focuses on removing hair from dude’s balls, we make a lot of testicle jokes. We’ve called them “plums”, “the family jewels”, “twig and berries”, the list goes on and on. Guys love to joke about balls, but we HATE talking about them in a serious/medical situation. I don’t know about y’all but if my doctor brings up testicles I get somewhat uncomfortable, which is very normal.
Testicular cancer is less rare than some other, more serious cancers (such as prostate cancer), but it still needs to be taken seriously. 1 in every 250 males will develop testicular cancer at some point in their life. And the average age at time of diagnosis is just 33 years old! That means we need to start checking early and often. Good thing is checking isn’t all that hard or invasive.
It is generally recommended that you check monthly for testicular cancer. This can simply be done in the shower and honestly only takes 2-3 minutes. The ROI is very, very good. It’s hard to explain exactly how to conduct the exam without sounding weird, so I’ll let someone else do that. I’ve linked two articles below that I think do a good job of explaining the process.
There is a lot out there about how testicular cancer is very treatable in any stage. It doesn’t have a very high mortality rate, and people don’t take it seriously. The problem with this line of thinking is that one, the cancer can spread to other areas and cause major problems (check out Lance Armstrong. He had testicular cancer first, then it spread to his lungs and brain.). And secondly, they never bring up the chemotherapy and uncomfortable medical care needed to treat it in the later stages. If you catch it early, lots can be done and it will be a much less painful process.
Finally, if you find something that seems off SET UP A DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT. On average men will wait 4-6 months before setting up an appointment. Don’t be that guy. Just get it set up and have that awkward conversation with your doctor. It will be worth it.
We hope this helps some. Please start checking yourself on a consistent basis and make sure to contact your doctor if you’re worried about something.