“It’s important to catch testicular cancer early, because the likelihood of a cure has become higher and higher,” Dr. Jim C. Hu, a urologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Presbyterian Hospital, told Fatherly. “There are about 9,000 new cases per year, and about 400 deaths.” There are three basic steps to the testicular self-exam. Each is critical and none of them are complicated. “What you’re looking for is very abnormal lumps, or lumps getting bigger, that are fixed to the testicle,” Dr. Robert Valenenzuela, a urologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, explains. “Things that are mobile, on the skin, could be sebaceous cysts and these are minor, for the most part. If trying to tell your epididymis from cancer still sounds like a nightmare, take heart. You won’t be checking your balls forever. The vast majority of cancer cases appear before age 40 and physicians often let self-exams slide for older patients. “It’s more concerning with young guys. The incidence of testicular cancer is a lot higher,” Valenzuela says. “With the older guys, we don’t worry as much.”
