Remember, Lance Armstrong, the cycling champion (before the doping cases caught up with him) in the 2000s or more recently Nicolas Gob, a Belgian actor very well known here for his roles in television series, in which he often plays police officers. They both have one thing in common: they had testicular cancer. And they both have a second point in common: they have late to consult.
“I was 26 years old and it was initially testicular cancer, remembered the actor during an interview given to Gala magazine in 2023. The problem is that unfortunately I waited. I was filming at the same time, I was a young actor, I didn’t dare say that I had a problem… I really waited a long time. I had metastases that spread everywhere: on my kidneys, in my chest… There was a moment when I could no longer not say it. Firstly, I had to have an operation before do chemo to try to reduce the metastases which had occurred after the testicular cancer tumor”.
Detected early, it is a cancer that is 99% curable.
Testicular cancer, although rarer than other male cancers, nevertheless remains a cancer that affects 3,000 French people each year, mostly young men, before the age of 45. And if it has a good prognosis (99% chance of recovery), it can metastasize and become complicated.
“Detected early, the treatment boils down to one step: removal of the diseased testicle (orchiectomy)”, summarizes the French Association of Urology (AFU). All testicular functions are then preserved, because the body can function perfectly with just one testicle. The appearance of the testicle (or “bursa” since the organ has been removed) is also preserved thanks to prostheses.
For many, testicular cancer allows them to continue life as normally as possible. Like Nicolas Cob, who adds: “I live very well. I have two children, I can I make love with my wife without problem. It doesn’t call into question the man I am, nor the potential virility I could have. The important thing is to be able to overcome it, to grow up and become someone. Talking about it can take away taboo, helping boys to talk about it, freeing speech and apprehensions.”
Testicular cancer: what are the consequences for fertility?
On the other hand, if it is not detected early, things can still become complicated. “Patients will be offered chemotherapy, radiotherapy or even major surgery to remove residual masses (abdominal, cervical, thoracic lymph nodes, removal of a segment of the liver or lung), recalls Dr. Thibaut Murez, urological surgeon at Montpellier University Hospital and head of the AFU external genital organs committee. These latter treatments can remove any possibility of natural fertility.”
Even when the outcome is favorable, the impact, physical and psychological, must not be neglected.
Self-palpation: a simple gesture that saves
“I really invite men, all men, after puberty to palpate the testicles. We could thus detect 90% of these cancers early.”, insists Dr. Thibaut Murez.
How to do it?
Carry out this self-palpation every month, after showering, one testicle after the other. Roll it slowly between your thumb and index finger.
Then look in the mirror to observe your testicles. If you feel a nodule or hard mass, or notice swelling or an abnormal appearance, talk to your doctor right away.
If you are unsure how to do this, ask your doctor for advice. There are also videos or diagrams well put together on the Internet.
